The Greatest Gift
by FriendsLovers
Summary: Your family's love is the greatest gift life has to offer. They'll give you love and support, whenever you need them. - DL, WARNING: SEASON 6 SPOILERS!
1. Chapter 1

**The Greatest Gift**

**Summary: Your family's love is the greatest gift life has to offer. They'll give you love and support, whenever you need them. - DL, WARNING: SEASON 6 SPOILERS!**

**Author's note: This is the multichapter story I mentioned in my season 6 spoiler oneshot. I've wanted to write it for a while and here it is finally. Huge thanks to the sweeties who supported me. Special thanks to Andie24 for being my beta! Like I mentioned in the summary, this fic is based on season 6 spoilers. So let me say it again. ****WARNING: SEASON 6 SPOILERS!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone or anything.**

**Rating: T**

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The nurse had left the room just a couple of minutes ago. Still Danny hadn't moved away from the place where she had left him. Lost in his thoughts, he let his eyes wander through the room. A plain, white hospital room; the place where he had spent the last couple of days. Over there, in that bed where now his large, dark blue sports bag was resting on top of the covers, he had been lying, torturing himself with thoughts that frightened him like never before.

Instinctively his eyes travelled south, coming to rest on his legs that currently refused their work. Still he could remember that moment around two weeks ago when he had heard the glass shattering, the deafening sound of gunshots breaking the peaceful silence. Instinctively he had thrown himself and Lindsay down onto the ground, covering her to make sure she didn't get hurt. He had felt the stinging pain the moment the bullet drove into his back. And then nothing.

Danny shuddered at the thought of that. The moment he had realised he couldn't feel his legs anymore, like his lower body half didn't exist, had caused a shocking rush of panic inside him. Shaking his head, he tried to push those thoughts as far away as possible. Enough he had to deal with the fact he had to sit in that wheelchair now, for who knew how long.

Sighing lightly, he let his eyes travel further through the room and over to the large window at the wall across of the door. The curtains were pulled to the sides so the summer sunshine could find its way into the white room, leaving surreal silhouettes on the tiled floor.

He wheeled over to the window so he could have a look outside. There wasn't much to see. He had a clear view down onto the street below. Cars were arriving and leaving. People were walking along the sidewalk, chatting or hurrying to whatever appointment they had. Danny didn't know what plans those people had for the day. He knew though that secretly or not so secretly, he was envying them; because they could walk. And he couldn't.

Once again sighing deeply, Danny closed his eyes, trying to fight back the rising feeling inside him, causing him to feel sick. Clearly he could remember what the doctors had told him. He had a good chance to walk again one day. Of course this would inquire a lot of hard and painful physical therapy. It was possible though and it was a goal he would work for. But he didn't try to fool himself; it would be a long and hard path and he knew a lot of emotions would be involved. Fears. Desperation. Anger. He was afraid of that.

"It's a nice view you have from that window, isn't it?" It was the soft, warm voice of Lindsay that caused Danny to snap back to reality. He turned around, finding Lindsay smiling at him with that warm smile that never failed to touch him. Even in the worst moments, a smile from Lindsay could make Danny forget the problems he had, no matter what was bothering him.

Some things weren't that easy to forget though. He tried to give her a smile in response but failed. Carefully Danny allowed himself to lock his eyes with hers, but instead of finding the sympathetic expression he had expected, he found nothing else but warmth in them. Still smiling softly, she walked over to him.

"I see you've packed already." She nodded towards the bag.

"The nurse helped me," he answered. Danny turned his attention back to the large window. He blinked lightly at the bright sunshine. His eyes wandered up to the handles of it. Lindsay, standing next to him now, followed his gaze.

"You want me to open the window for you?" she asked.

Danny nodded. The change in her voice hadn't stayed unnoticed to him. Two weeks had passed since the shooting. During those two weeks he had been in a more or less intense state of shock. Slowly, very slowly he had started to get over this shock, but still he was far away from getting used to this new, frightening situation, no matter how optimistic the doctors were.

Lindsay had also changed a lot during those two weeks. Her own shock had kept her awake all day and all night, hurrying from the hospital to the lab and home just to head back to the hospital again. With the time though, the old strength had returned and very quickly she had been handling job, baby and the hospital visits with a perfection that simply impressed him.

Now she was back to pick him up and take him home. Danny could imagine how she was feeling inside; he wouldn't feel any different than her. Still Lindsay wasn't showing anything of those overwhelming emotions. Instead she was spreading an optimism that almost caused him to feel the same.

In silence he watched how she opened the window. He closed his eyes at the sudden cool breeze that hit him. Despite the fact it was summer, the mornings were still cool; a refreshing cold he had to admit.

Opening his eyes again, he glanced back down at the street. Still he could see people walking up and down the sidewalk. And the strong wish to just get up and do the same rising inside him.

"Where's Lucy?" he asked, keeping his eyes focused on the people below.

"Your mother is taking care of her. I'll pick her up after I get you home," Lindsay answered. He felt how she stepped closer and a moment later one of her delicate hands was resting on his shoulder. Through the fabric of his shirt he could feel the warmth coming from it. It seemed like every of her actions were giving him some kind of comfort; no matter if it was a touch or a smile.

"So what do you say?" she asked then, gently squeezing his shoulder. "Do you want us to go home now?"

In fact the answer was easy; Danny didn't like hospitals, he hadn't even enjoyed being there when Lucy had been born. They always gave him a strange feeling; people weren't supposed to be at hospitals, usually something was wrong when they had to stay there.

But all of the sudden he was hesitant towards the idea to head home. At home things wouldn't just be the way they had been before. In fact he expected everything to just be even more complicated than they were now.

"Are you alright?" Lindsay wanted to know.

Hearing another question from his wife, Danny realized he hadn't answered the previous one. He couldn't help the light sigh that escaped him. Both of Lindsay's hands were resting on his shoulders now.

"How will it be when I'm home?" he asked, to his surprise simply speaking out what he was thinking; possibly due to the fact he couldn't lie to her anyways.

"We'll find a way," she answered, once again squeezing his shoulders lightly. "We'll see what we can do. We'll find a way, together."

Danny sighed deeply. "And what if it stays like this?"

"Danny, you know what the doctors said," Lindsay answered calmly. "It might take a while, but you'll be able to walk again."

Danny had expected to receive this response. He shook his head. "That's what they're saying, but what if it doesn't work?"

He felt how she removed her hands from his shoulders. Lindsay stepped around, and pulling a near chair over, sat down in front of Danny. Once again he gazed her right into the eyes, once again seeing the same expression from before, now mixed with hope and determination.

"I know at the moment it's hard for you to imagine that it can be the way it has been before again," she told him, gently taking his hands into hers to emphasize her words. "I've been feeling the same way at the beginning. I was so scared. But...as difficult as it is, we have to have hope. We have to believe in it. I know you're strong, stronger than you think. If someone can handle the therapy and this whole situation, it's you. You and me. And Lucy. We'll do that together. And I believe...no, I know that you can do that. You just have to believe in yourself."

"I know." Once again Danny released a light sigh. "But...what would you do if...it would really stay like that? I know what they told us. I know they're optimistic and expecting me to walk again. But what if it doesn't go the way they planned it? What would you do then?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, in confusion raising her eyebrows at him. When he blushed lightly at her question, Lindsay slowly started to understand. "Listen, I think actually you should know the answer for that question, but I'm willing to tell you again that nothing will change, not between us. You and me, we're a team. I still believe in you and I know you'll be able to walk again. It won't stay like that. No matter how unrealistic this seems to feel for you at the moment, it's what I'm thinking and what I'm believing in. But for the other case; what should I do? I'd do everything to make your all day life as easy for you as even possible. I'll simply continue what I'll do when we get home today."

"You know it'd be easier if I stayed here," he replied quietly. There was nothing he could do against the insecurity rising inside him once again. Next to the still surreal, shocking thoughts he had regarding his current situation, he also didn't feel well at the thought of his wife having to take care of him and especially at the beginning to help him with pretty much everything.

He saw the expression in her eyes changing. So many times she had tried to reassure him that everything was going to be fine and that they would go through this crisis together. Seeing him having doubts and fears again caused her to feel sad as well. He wished he could just shut off those feelings. But so far it didn't work.

"So you'd rather stay here at the hospital for who knows how long instead of coming back home?" she wanted to know.

"Yeah, because I want it to be easier for you," he answered. "You have..."

"And what if all I want is you to be home again?" Lindsay asked back. "What if I've been feeling lonely at home the times I've had to sleep over there? What if I've wished you to just be back home so many times? You want the best for me? Then come home. Because I want the best for you as well, and I know you'll feel better at home. And I don't want you to waste a single thought on whether this situation will be easy to handle or not. We're a married couple. I want to do whatever I can do for you, no matter what it means. I don't only want the fun times, I want it all, the whole thing. I want you, the way you are. No matter if this means you're walking or sitting in a wheelchair. It doesn't change who you are. It doesn't change anything. The only reason why I want you to work on being able to walk again is because I want that for you! I know you just want everything back the way it has been before. I know that's what'll happen and I'll do everything to help you with that. I don't want you to ever have a doubt that I'll be there for you. You hear me?"

Once again Lindsay was looking him straight into the eyes. The pure determination and honesty in her words had managed to surprise Danny, even though he knew he should have expected this answer. He wouldn't act any different if she was in exactly the same situation. He knew that the woman in front of him more than once had proven what she was feeling for him; that she loved him, the way he was and that no hindrance, no bump in the road could ever scare her away.

Still this was a fact Danny needed to get used to. Someone who cared, someone who wanted nothing else but him to feel good. Or better. He had no doubt she meant every of those words she had spoken. Lindsay was the support he needed and deep inside he knew that no matter how much strength it would cost, she would help him in every possible way. He just had to let her.

He kept on gazing back into her eyes; those deep brown pools, filled with so much love and warmth like he had never known was possible for one human to feel for another one. He had no doubt his own eyes were mirroring those deep feelings. Never Danny had imagined he could even fall in love; after all he had never experienced a feeling that would get even close to what people described at something that was better than anything else. Now what he was experiencing with Lindsay was topping all those descriptions by far. He loved her from the bottom of his heart.

It was the point when he finally understood. Well aware of what he was feeling for Lindsay now, Danny understood she was feeling the same way for him. He knew how he would act around her in every possible way; of course no one could be prepared for every moment, but one fact was clear to him. He would always be there for her, not shying away if things got rocky or hard, willing to give his everything for her. How could he expect she wouldn't act the same way?

Slowly, very slowly Danny started to understand that with every word, Lindsay had been right. He had no need to be afraid. Of course his current shape was frightening him; everyone would feel that way. But he had no reason to worry that ever she would have a doubt that what she was doing wasn't what she wanted to do.

"I think I want to go home now," he said then with the tiny hint of a smile. Immediately, a strong warmth flashed through his body when that bright smile he adored and needed so much lit Lindsay's beautiful face and she nodded.

"Fine. Let's get you home and then I'll pick up Lucy," she answered, getting up from the chair.

"Can't we pick her up together?" Danny wanted to know. "I don't really want to wait at home. I mean...you know."

He wanted to say more, but once again Lindsay didn't need him to explain himself. One gaze into his eyes was enough for her to know he didn't want to be at home alone already. Not immediately.

"I think your Ma will be happy if we both show up there," she told him, smiling at him.

Then Lindsay turned back to the window to close it again while Danny was watching her. Still he could see the people in the street, some of them slowly going for a walk, some hurrying to get to their next appointment. Still he was frustrated and frightened, longing to just be like them again. But next to those feelings he noticed the calming effect of another one. Hope. Once again she had managed to convince him. Very slowly he started to believe her. The chances were good. He just had to believe in himself. And in them.

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**Preview: Danny and Lindsay have to handle the first day back at home.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow, thank you so much for those sweet reviews! I didn't really expect any feedback, so that was a wonderful surprise! Also thanks to everyone who read the chapter and who added the story! Special thanks to saderia, afrozenheart412, SuzzieSidle, uscrocks, jennifer32485, Andie24, DantanaMM, Lola-Ladybug13, lulubell7, iheartcsinewyork, just-off-the-key-off-reason and Colie04! Also huge thanks to Andie24 for betaing!  
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Since the day he and Lindsay had visited their new apartment, Danny had known that he would love this place. It was slightly bigger than his old place, with an extra room that was now Lucy's bedroom. Lovingly, he and Lindsay decorated together. The entire place felt more like a home after those few months they were living in it than any other place had before.

One room apart from his bedroom had become his favourite in the apartment. There was a large window in the living room. From this window he had a wonderful view over the skyline of New York. It was an impressive view that he could never get enough of. He wasn't quite sure why, but sitting there, gazing out and watching how the sunrays were glistering in the millions of windows of the tall buildings had a calming effect on him.

A tiny smile lit Danny's face while once again he was sitting at that window, looking outside. Lindsay had opened it a bit earlier so the fresh air could find its way into their unfortunately very hot apartment. Even from their floor he could hear the people chatting and laughing down there in the street. Busy noises were to hear; people, cars, and of course occasionally sirens of either a police car or an ambulance. He liked his busy city. The busier it was the more relaxed he seemed to be. This was his home; the most wonderful place for him to be at.

His smile widened lightly at the reflection he could see in the clear glass of the slightly opened window. A minute ago Lindsay had headed into the small child's room to take care of Lucy, who had broken the peaceful silence with her cries. Now she had returned with the still fussy baby and had sat down on the couch with her in her arms.

Carefully he turned around a bit, just enough so he could watch her. Too busy with the little one, she didn't notice him doing so. Immediately he was filled with that familiar warmth at the sight. Sitting on the couch now, Lindsay was holding Lucy in her arms, softly talking to her. Even though Danny highly doubted the young baby understood anything of what her mother was telling her, she seemed to listen closely. This reaction of the child had caused a bright, beautiful smile that lit Lindsay's face.

"Are you hungry, baby girl?" she asked, gently running her index finger over the soft skin of her daughter's cheek.

"I think the question is unnecessary," Danny replied, smiling when she looked up at him. "She's always hungry."

Lindsay chuckled. "You mean just like her Daddy?" Turning back to Lucy, starting to open her blouse to feed the indeed hungry infant, she continued, "I'm about to make lunch. How does pasta sound to you?"

"Usually good," Danny answered, keeping on watching her. "But I'm not really hungry."

Like expected, he could see her face turning serious again. A light sigh from her emphasized this reaction.

"You need to eat more," she told him then. "Lately you're barely eating anything. You hardly ever even finish lunch and if I didn't force you, you wouldn't even have breakfast and dinner."

"Possibly because I really wasn't a fan of the hospital food?" he suggested, with a chuckle trying to ease the conversation.

"You're not at the hospital anymore." Once again Lindsay looked up at him, still with a serious expression. "What's wrong? You never eat like that. If you don't feel well, you can tell me."

"It's not that," he replied. He could feel the concern rising inside her already. It was a normal reaction and he knew that. Still he wished he wouldn't give her any reasons to feel that way. "I just am not in the mood. There's been too much going on lately."

"That could be an explanation," she agreed. Once again she gave him a light smile. Still he could sense her concern but he knew she understood. The last few days and weeks had been a constant rush of emotions. Now he was finally back home but still far from getting back to his old all day life.

"I think I might need something to drink though," he said then after a few moments of silence.

"If you wait a moment I can get you something," Lindsay suggested, but Danny shook his head.

"I think I'm fine with getting myself something to drink, right?" With that he wheeled himself over to the kitchen. He felt she was watching him, torn between not suggesting help to allow him to ask for it first and her instinct to just do something for him.

While Lindsay continued nursing Lucy, Danny headed into the kitchen. Already the moment he entered the room, he felt frustration rising inside him. Even though he was determined to be as independent as possible, he knew actually doing that wasn't that easy at all. Their kitchen wasn't prepared for such a situation he was in now and he was refusing to change that. Although he still had the fear that everything could stay the way it was now, he started to see things with his wife's eyes. He would be fine, and so he didn't need any extra help, at least not in his eyes.

Scanning the room, he realised there wasn't any glass near he would have been able to reach. Sighing lightly, he opened the large closet that included all their glasses and dishes. Grabbing one of the glasses, Danny made his way back to the refrigerator to get the juice he wanted to have. Setting the glass onto the kitchen counter, he pushed the refrigerator open and grabbed the large bottle of orange juice. Slamming the door shut again, he grabbed the glass, just to realise that there was no way to get both items to the kitchen table at the other end of the room.

Releasing another, deeper sigh, Danny set the glass back onto the kitchen counter. He wasn't going to wheel back and forth between the table twice to get a single glass of juice. It had to work in another way. Opening the still full bottle of orange juice, he glanced up at the glass on the kitchen counter. Compared to the table, the counter was a good few inches higher. Holding the bottle with both hands, he brought it up to the edge of the glass to fill it. But right the moment the juice started to flow, the glass tumbled to the side and fell, spilling its entire content on the counter, the floor and himself.

"Shit!" Cursing between clenched teeth, Danny slammed the now half empty bottle onto the counter. Grabbing the glass again, he looked for a towel to clean the mess, but once again there wasn't any near him. Anger was boiling inside him now; anger that was there all the time but now found its way back to the surface with such a force that he closed his hand around the glass and tossed it down onto the tiled floor where it shattered in pieces.

Staring down at the mix of juice and shattered glass, Danny clenched his hands into fists, trying to control his laboured breathing to calm the steadily increasing anger inside him down again. The mix of anger and disappointment caused tears to rise in his eyes and if he had been still holding the bottle, he would have thrown it against the next wall.

From the room next door he could hear the low voice of Lindsay talking to Lucy. Then he could hear footsteps approaching the room. A moment later his wife appeared in the doorway. He refused to look at her, not willing to see whatever expression she had in her eyes.

"Are you alright?" she asked carefully.

"Do I look like I'm alright?" he snapped back at her.

She didn't answer. Instead Danny heard how she opened the other, thinner but taller closet in the room. He heard how she small broom and the dustpan.

"Let me just clean that up," Lindsay said, this time clearly with hesitance and insecurity in her voice. Glancing up at her finally, he saw the unsure expression in her eyes, prepared for him snapping at her again.

"No," he told her then, trying to suppress the anger in his voice. "I did that mess, I can clean it myself." He stared her right into the eyes. Lindsay remained standing where she was, not sure what to reply to not cause his anger to increase. Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. "Who am I trying to fool? Just say it; I can't do it myself. I can't even get myself something to drink! What am I supposed to do when you're at work for a full shift and I have to stay here, huh? Drink and eat nothing all day?"

At the end of his speech, Danny was yelling in frustration. His body was shaking in anger; anger because of the persons who were responsible for his situation. But mostly anger at himself because he wasn't able to act the way he wanted to.

Lindsay remained watching him for yet another short moment. Then she rested the items she was holding on a near chair and made her way over to him. This time without hesitation, she closed her arms around him in a tight embrace. Despite his anger, Danny didn't even think about fighting her back. Instead he allowed her to press him tightly against her, holding him as close as she could.

"I can understand how you're feeling," she told him then. Once again her voice had changed. Now instead of hesitation, he could hear the softness in her voice that somehow immediately caused the boiling anger to shrink. "I can't know for sure how you're feeling, but I can imagine how frustrated you are. You're mad. Mad because even getting yourself something to drink seems to be hard work now. I know you can't bear the looks people will give you at work and the hesitant questions if someone could maybe help you, even though you know they only mean it good for you. Surely I'd feel the same way. It's your right to get angry, you know? You didn't choose to be in this situation. But as mad as you get because of it, it's something you need to get used to at the moment. As stupid as that might sound to you."

"But how is that supposed to work?" Danny asked her, relieved noticing himself slowly relaxing again. When she pulled back and knelt down next to him, he locked eyes with her. "How am I supposed to handle anything on my own at the moment? I can't help you with Lucy, I can't get myself food or drinks. How will I be able to handle work?"

"Maybe you should stop seeing it as a weak point when you ask for help?" she suggested softly. "I know you'll hate to ask me or anyone else to do something for you. We both know with in no time you'll be more mobile again, first when you get used to this new situation and later when you'll start to walk again. But currently you should stop worrying that every time you ask it'll make you weak. No one's thinking that! No one's pitying you. Just allow people to help you until you can do stuff by yourself. And about Lucy; there's still enough you can do with her. There's more to do than carrying her around the room."

Danny glanced back at her, allowing himself to think about her words. Still he was disappointed; no speech could change that. What Lindsay could do though was making him understand. Of course her words couldn't just change him and change the way he was thinking completely and she was well aware of that. Still he knew that she was right. He had to ask for help, no matter how uncomfortable he felt with that. Possibly with the time he would get used to it.

"It's not easy though," he told her.

Lindsay nodded. "It's not, that's true. But you'll be surprised by how you'll handle this situation. You should already be so proud of yourself. In all honesty, I would have expected you to push us all away as far as you could. I can't tell you how grateful I am that you're allowing me to be such a big part of all that."

Despite himself, Danny blushed lightly. "Yeah, yeah, I'm awesome, I know," he said, giving her a light smirk. "I'm sorry I got that mad. But...I wish it was easier. I wish I'd not have to ask for everything."

"It's understandable you're angry," Lindsay told him. She took the broom and the dustpan back from the chair and started to pick up the shattered glass. "I've been angry as well. At myself because I wished I could have protected you somehow. And at those stupid guys. What do you think what thoughts I had towards them? All I wanted was grabbing a gun and shooting them all, or run them over with my car for hurting you and doing that to you. Anger is a normal feeling in moments like that. There's no reason to hide that. Same counts for tears."

Danny nodded. He watched her for a moment before he spoke again. "I'm sorry I ruined your glass."

Lindsay chuckled. "Don't worry about it. Next time, ask me for help though, or we need to buy new ones soon."

At his words Danny couldn't help the light grin that lit his face. Lindsay was very careful with what she was saying, and she didn't even have to force herself to do so. Earlier he had seen her insecurity which still found its way to the surface sometimes. Quickly she had been back to her old self though, having no problems with finding the right words in the right moments.

"Where's Lucy?" he asked then. "Still in the living room?"

Lindsay nodded, getting up with the dustpan. "Yeah, in her carrier."

"You think she'd mind her Daddy smelling like an orange?" he asked teasingly.

Lindsay laughed. "I don't think so. I'd rather expect her to launch herself at you and try to eat your shirt. The girl is the hungriest person I've ever met."

Danny chuckled. "Worse than me? Wow." Once again he glanced at the mess of orange juice. "You sure you don't need me here?"

Lindsay shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Just take care of the little one."

Danny nodded. He wheeled over to the door before he stopped once again. "Oh, and pasta sounds really good to me."

Glancing up again, Lindsay smiled brightly. Smiling back at her, Danny turned around to head back into the living room. He could imagine there would be more moments like that in which he would get frustrated. He also knew she was right when she told him his feelings were understandable and didn't need to be hidden. One fact was a great relief though. No matter how difficult a situation possibly would be to handle for him, he knew he could rely on her. Knowing there was someone who understood and was great with offering just the right amount of support were making things a lot easier.  
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Preview: Danny and Lindsay slowly get used to their current situation.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you so much for all those wonderful reviews again! I'm really getting excited here! Also thanks to everyone for reading and of course for adding the story! Thanks to Andie24 for betaing! Special thanks to afrozenheart412, iheartcsinewyork, uscrocks, just-off-the-key-off-reason, LME, saderia, jennifer32485, Lola-Ladybug13, ioanhoratio, Andie24 and Dani!**

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**The bedroom of the apartment was dark. Dark and quiet. All that was heard were the noises coming from outside; the cars in the street, some people being out late. Lying on his back, Danny was listening to those city noises. At night it seemed like there was even more to hear than usually. That even included the low, steady sound of his wife's and daughter's breaths. Lindsay was lying next to him, one arm across his chest. She was deep asleep. But even though it was getting close to midnight, he was still fully awake.

Releasing a light sigh, Danny ran a hand through his short hair, shaking his head to clear his mind. Too many thoughts were spinning in his mind; there was no way he could relax enough to fall asleep at the moment.

Usually Danny enjoyed the quiet at night. During the days he usually didn't have any moments in which he could just sit down and relax. Especially since Lucy's birth, he and Lindsay had to be busy and prepared all day, barely having the chance to sit down.

Since the shooting though, he had a lot of time where he was either alone or had nothing to do. Those quiet minutes had nothing to do with relaxing. Instead all kind of different thoughts were bothering him. Thoughts about the future, thoughts about whether the doctors were right or not. So far he felt like their optimism was overdone. Somewhere deep inside he was still struggling with doubts, but with the constant encouragement which Lindsay was showing to him, he was able to push those doubts away better and better.

Still moments like this, where he was alone with those thoughts and fighting them back because of the lack of distraction became almost impossible, he felt the familiar uncomfortable feeling rising in his stomach; a feeling that made him sick. He didn't just want to lay there, patiently waiting and hoping. He wanted to see progress. He needed to see them. He knew he was asking for too much. Physical therapy hadn't even started yet. Only two weeks later he shouldn't expect the biggest progresses yet. Danny knew that. But accepting it wasn't as easy.

Once again he sighed lightly. This time he noticed a movement next to him. Lindsay stretched, sighing herself. Then she lay still again, but from the change of her breathing, he could tell she had just woken up.

"Can't you sleep?" she asked into the silence, her voice low and thick with sleep.

"How do you know?" Danny asked back. Did he wake her up? He wasn't sure about that. He felt how the bed moved lightly and he could make out how she got up from her lying position, reached over him and switched the light on the bedside table on, dimming it so it was just enough to see each other but not enough to wake Lucy up.

"No idea," she answered then, lying back down next to him. Supporting her head with her hand, she gazed at him. "Possibly my instinct? You seem to be tired, what's keeping you awake?"

Danny looked back at her, unsure on what to answer. If he was honest, he didn't really know what exactly was keeping him awake. He was confused by himself, but that seem to happen a lot lately.

"Too many thoughts maybe," he answered, shrugging. Lindsay nodded. Her expression changed. He could almost see the thoughts that were running through her mind. Unconsciously her hand moved over to where his was resting on his stomach. He shuddered lightly at the feeling of her soft fingers brushing over the bare skin of his arm and move up to his hand to stop on top of it.

"Do you want to share your thoughts with me, baby?" she asked softly.

Danny tried to smile in response, already prepared to tell her that there wasn't anything interesting to share. To his surprise those words didn't find their way out of his mouth though. Instead he felt a strong urge rising inside him; the urge to simply blurt out all his thoughts, asking her what to do. He knew she didn't have answers for all his questions or solutions for all his problems. But something deep inside made him feel like that, longing to just expose every bit of his mind to her, hoping she would understand. Never had he expected himself to be like that, but something was changing, for a while now already. And to his own surprise he didn't mind that at all.

"I'm not making any progress," he said then. Still looking her into the eyes, he waited for her reaction.

"What exactly do you mean?" she wanted to know.

Danny sighed. "I mean that...during those two weeks, nothing changed. All is still the same."

"Yes, it is," Lindsay agreed. He felt how her hand which had been loosely resting on his, grabbed it lightly now. "But like you said; two weeks. That's not much yet. I know you want it to go faster, but as hard as it is, you have to be patient. I know it's easier said than done of course. But currently that's unfortunately all we can do."

"I know," Danny replied. Looking away from her, he turned his attention to their joined hands. Once again there was a warmth coming from her hand. He felt like this warmth was entering him through where their hands were joined, from there spreading through his body like a comforting wave.

"I know I need to be patient. It's not that easy though," he continued. "I mean...I know I have to wait but...well, I still can't feel anything. It might stay like that for a while, but it's driving me crazy. I'm afraid it won't change. That it won't ever feel different again."

"I can imagine that," Lindsay answered. Gently she squeezed his hand, holding it a bit tighter. This time she didn't tell him that he just had to believe in himself. More than once she had told Danny exactly that. He knew her opinion about that and she knew he was aware of the truth of her statements.

Shaking his head, he tried to fight back the rising disappointment again. "I know I can't expect much after only two weeks. I know I'll have to be patient for a much longer time. I don't even want to imagine how difficult things will be when I've have to go to therapy. But at least I might be able to feel something then. Sometimes I just..." He stopped, blushing lightly at his own thoughts, which didn't stay unnoticed by his wife.

"What's sometimes?" she wanted to know.

Danny couldn't help but blush a bit more. "It's horrible when you can't feel your own legs. It's...it's driving me insane. I just want to feel something again. Anything. I was...so close to just ramming a knife into them with the hope I could feel any kind of pain then."

He didn't miss how she tensed lightly at his words. It was an honest answer though and he knew she rather heard the truth than what she wanted to hear. Once again he felt how her hand tightened around his, just a tiny bit more.

"It's not like I'd actually do that," he added quickly.

"But the urge is very strong," she replied. "No, I understand that, believe me. Just try to resist it, okay?"

Despite the serious situation, Danny couldn't help the light chuckle that escaped him. "Don't worry about that," he answered. Turning serious again, he added, "I wish I could simply speed things up. But I don't even want to think about going to physical therapy. It'll be like torture."

"It'll be hard, but it'll be worth it," Lindsay answered. "I'll try my best to remind you of that whenever you need it."

"And what if I'll go all angry and aggressive?" he wanted to know. "What if I don't want to go? What if it doesn't work fast enough? What if I'll be even worse than I'm now?"

Once again Danny looked at Lindsay. He cursed himself for all those questions, for all the reassuring answers he was expecting from her and needing from her. It wasn't a way he wanted to act; he didn't like it at all. Currently he felt like he was depending on her though, and he needed her to say it. He needed her to tell him that everything would be fine, no matter what he'd do, because he couldn't promise to be optimistic all the time when a spilled glass of orange juice already could get him angry.

For a couple of moments Lindsay was gazing back at him. Danny felt like she was right reading his mind while doing so. Then all of the sudden a smile lit her face; a warm, touching smile, filled with nothing else but love.

"I think you should know the answer already," she told him then. "Listen, why don't you just try a trick? Whenever you wonder how I'd react in a certain situation, why don't you just try to think of how you'd react? What would you do if I had to struggle with all that? Would you be mad at me? Would you push me away because you can't handle that anymore? Would anything change?"

Danny couldn't hide the smile that lit his face at her question and the way she was looking at him now; head slightly tilted to the side, a soft smile on her lips.

"You always have an answer that convinces me, huh?" he asked back.

She chuckled. "Possibly another thing we have in common." Serious again, she added, "We might be different in a couple of things. But one thing we have in common. We love each other, so I think you can be pretty sure that the way you'd act towards me is the way I'd act as well."

Danny nodded, still with a smile on his face. After insecurity had been dominating him again, now a rush of relief was causing him to feel better. He wanted to say more but was interrupted by an all too familiar sound, coming from Lucy's little bed.

"Looks like someone else just decided to join the party," he said. Bracing himself on his hands, he managed to sit up as good as possible while Lindsay got up from the bed to pick the crying baby up. Still it felt like her warm hand was closed around his, giving him the warming comfort that was helping so much.

"I'm already surprised it took her so long to get bothered by us talking and the light," she said. Carefully she picked Lucy up and cradled her in her arms. Danny's smile widened lightly at the way her smile seemed to get even brighter at the feeling of their daughter in her arm.

"Hey baby girl, what's wrong?" she cooed while climbing back onto the bed and crawling over to Danny. "You rather want to go to Daddy?"

With that Lindsay simply passed the still crying baby to Danny. Carefully arranging her in his arms, he held her close, surprised noticing how Lucy almost instantly stopped crying.

"Hey, what's that now?" he asked.

Lucy simply looked up at him with her large, blue eyes. Still she seemed to be tired, possibly she had indeed been woken up by them. Gently he held her closer against his chest, which caused the baby to snuggle against him as close as she could. He felt how Lindsay moved closer as well and a moment later one of her arms wrapped around his shoulders while she rested her head against his arm. Danny glanced down at her, finding her smiling up at him.

"I know it's hard to be patient," she said, almost whispering. "I know it's going to be a long and very rocky path. But I also know that you've got a lot of support. Lucy and I will be here to cheer you up after a bad day. We'll be celebrating every progress you make, no matter how small it might be."

"That's good to know," he whispered back. "And...thanks again."

"For what?" Lindsay wanted to know.

Danny sighed playfully. "For what? For everything. For being so patient with me. For reassuring me over and over again. For being here and for helping me with everything. I've been afraid how it'd be to depend on you so much. I'm surprised it's not as difficult as I thought."

"Sometimes you just have to accept it the way it is. It's hard to ask for help, but it's something both of us have to learn. So far it seems to work really well though," she answered.

"We're just a good team," he replied with a light wink.

With that Danny turned his attention back to Lucy while Lindsay snuggled closer against his side. The baby had fallen asleep again. The wonderful warmth that seemed to spread through his entire body, was still there though. Once again there was a peaceful quiet filling the room. This time there was no space for torturous thoughts. Being so close to his family, all those thoughts seemed to be far away. There had been times when all the stress had been so much he had been longing for some time on his own where he could just think. Now he knew that being alone didn't always work. Rather he enjoyed those close moments with his family, knowing that whenever he needed them, they were at his side.

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**Preview: Danny wants to surprise Lindsay at the lab where he has a conversation with Hawkes.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you so much again for the sweet feedback! Huge thanks to everyone who's reading this fic and also to everyone for adding it! Thanks to my wonderful beta Andie24 for all the help! I know I'm updating this fic a lot, but the muse seems to like it. ;) But like you saw, I'm also working on updating all my other fics. Thanks to all of you for the support and for reading my stories. Special thanks to uscrocks, Hylen, afrozenheart412, DantanaMM, saderia, Lola-Ladybug13, just-off-the-key-off-reason, jennifer32485 and iheartcsinewyork! Please keep on reviewing, it's a great motivation! :) Also I've gotten some new ideas this morning and because I don't want to start a few story again, I'll add them to this here. So expect some fluff to come. :)  
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**No matter what happened outside of the building of the New York Crime Lab, inside everything always seemed to stay the same. When Danny arrived at the tall building, he felt this stronger than ever. The building; tall, with facades that seemed to be made completely out of glass, sparkling in the bright light of the midday sun, looked exactly the way it had always looked like during the last years. Not the slightest bit revealed through how many changes the building itself but especially the workers inside had gone through.

Danny allowed himself a moment to look at the giant building before he wheeled inside. He ignored the looks he got immediately; he didn't blame people for that. For years he was working at this place. He was just one of them; a worker who didn't specially get recognized. Now that was different. In a crowd of hundreds of people he wasn't just someone who stayed unseen anymore. All the time he had been afraid of those moments when he would return and everyone would give him all those looks; some of the sympathetic, some curious, some wondering whether he would need anyone's help or not.

But despite himself, Danny wasn't as bothered by all the sudden attention as he had expected. Successfully he managed to ignore all those glances and made his way over to the elevators. How many times he had used those elevators. Never before he had realised how grateful he was they existed; never before they had been more useful. To his relief his elevator went up straight to the floor he wanted to go to.

And once again everything seemed to be the way he was used to. When he made his way out of the elevator, he was surrounded by the glass walls of the lab. Busy people were passing him while others were found in their offices, bent over files or in the different lab rooms, processing whatever evidence they were working on.

Everything seemed to be like usually. Nothing seemed to have changed, even though for him a lot had. Releasing a light sigh, Danny fought back the rising feelings he knew would only be followed by thoughts that never failed to upset him. Slowly, very slowly and thanks to Lindsay, he was getting used to his current situation. He was far away from accepting the fact he had to use a wheelchair for a while. He had gotten to a point though where he was determined to learn how to walk again, no matter how long it would take him. It wouldn't be easy for sure, but Lindsay's constant optimism hadn't allowed him to keep his doubts.

Thinking of his wife, a smile immediately lit his face. Lindsay didn't know he was at the lab, she didn't even know he had been planning to visit her the day before already. His mother had picked up Lucy and had taken him to the lab so he could visit her. There were several reasons for his wish to do that. Mostly he wanted to surprise Lindsay with that. Also he missed that she wasn't around him all day while she had to work.

Apart from that he also wanted to prove to himself that he was able to handle being among people again. Something deep inside him had caused him to shy away from even leaving the apartment. He couldn't help the feeling that he was helpless all alone out there. When Lindsay had suggested he go out, Danny had told her he wasn't in the mood. In fact he couldn't stand being locked in the apartment all day, but he was simply frightened to be out there in the streets, still needing to get used to his wheelchair.

Deep inside he knew he couldn't go on like that forever though. He couldn't hide in his apartment. He had to work again one day. And he also wanted to see more of the city than the apartment and the lab. Of course he was convinced to learn how to walk again as soon as possible, but until this would happen, he'd try his best to arrange with this situation.

So far he couldn't spot his wife anywhere. He noticed Stella and Adam walking down the corridor together, not noticing him though. Mac was in his office, busy with his phone. Concentrating, he scanned all the people he could see, but still he couldn't find her.

"Danny?" It was the voice of Hawkes that caused Danny to snap out of his thoughts. He had been so concentrated with focussing on finding his wife that he hadn't noticed this friend who was approaching him. Hawkes was smiling brightly; like usually, but Danny couldn't help the thought that he looked even happier this time. "Hey, are you back at work already?"

Danny shook his head. "Nah, not yet. Just wanted to visit Lindsay. You have an idea where she is?"

"Yeah, she and Flack are out to interrogate some people. She should be back soon," Hawkes answered. "Shouldn't take her long, so do you want to wait here?"

Danny gave him a half smile. "Yeah, heading back home isn't that easy, so I better stay here. How about you? Anything special to do?"

Hawkes shook his head. "No, just am on my break. I could wait with you together. Maybe in your office."

"Sounds like a plan," Danny agreed. He had to admit he liked the idea of Hawkes waiting with him. Even though he tried to deny it even to himself, Danny needed people around him a lot at the moment. Not only because there were moments in which he needed help, he also liked to know someone was there he could talk to.

"Good then," Hawkes said. "You...uh, need me to...?"

Danny couldn't help a light chuckle that escaped him at Hawkes' sudden insecurity. "No worries, it's fine, I can do that myself. It's good training for the arms."

Hawkes laughed. "Then may I borrow your chair later?"

Danny laughed as well. "We'll see about that, okay? First you'll have to entertain me until my wife shows up here."

Together the two men headed over to the office Danny shared with Lindsay. The moment they entered the room though, he could feel his former light mood change again. Moments like this weren't rare lately. Often he felt good and optimistic, then all of the sudden he felt strange like that for whatever reason.

Glancing up at Hawkes, who had sat down on the couch in the room, he realized his friend was watching him closely. The way he raised his eyebrows lightly Danny could tell his mood changes didn't stay unnoticed to him.

"Are you alright?" he wanted to know.

"Sure," Danny answered, trying to smile. Like usually when he tried to fake a smile though, he failed. Sighing deeply, he shrugged. "I don't know. Sometimes I'm just feeling...weird."

Hawkes nodded. He was quiet for a moment and Danny could almost see the thoughts running through his mind. Then he looked up again. "How are things going for you by the way? Do you slowly get used to it?"

"Yeah, very slowly though," Danny answered. "At least Lindsay managed to convince me that I should believe in me being able to walk again soon."

Hawkes smiled. "I have to say I'm amazed by her. You can give her as much to do as possible, but still she's smiling and somewhere in between always managing to cheer everyone up and motivate people."

Danny chuckled. "She's amazing. I wonder if she knows how much she's doing for me. All day she's there for me. I wish I could just tell her to slow down instead of...well, the way I'm acting."

"What do you mean?" Hawkes wanted to know. Danny glanced back at his friend, not sure whether he should feel comfortable with his interest or not. Hawkes was a good listener and a wonderful supporter when it came to his friends. He was simply sitting there, looking the Danny right into the eyes, clearly signaling he was listening and interested in whatever his friend had to share with him.

And even though he was blushing lightly, Danny decided that Hawkes would be the perfect person to listen to him. "It's just...the way I seem to be acting lately," he started to explain. "I'm afraid I'm too clingy. Never thought I'd say that."

"Why too clingy?" Hawkes asked.

Danny sighed deeply. "I mean I...seem to need her around me all the time. Not only because I need her to help me with things. I just...want her to be around her. I want to talk to her as often as possible. I want to be close to her. I want her...to hold me. Or to just hug me from time to time. I know it sounds stupid."

"Why should it sound stupid? It doesn't," Hawkes replied. "I think you just need her around you. It's not an easy time for you. You're just in need of some comfort."

"I'm feeling like a clingy baby," he said, shaking his head at himself. "She's so busy with work and Lucy and with helping me. I know, don't tell me she's doing that for me and that she doesn't mind it. I know that myself. I just...possibly shouldn't overdo it."

"I don't think you're doing that," Hawkes told him. "In fact it's good you're trying to be so close to her instead of pushing her away."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Danny answered. "Still...she told me so many times its fine and I know it is. But I'm still feeling uncomfortable. I just wish things were easier. I want her to be happy. Sometimes I miss it the way it has been in the very beginning. Everything has been so easy back then. Everything was so much fun."

"Honestly?" Hawkes replied then. "I'd even go so far and say she's happier now than she has been before." When he saw the disbelieving look Danny was giving him, he explained, "I know what you want. You want everything to be the way it has been at the beginning of your relationship? I don't think that's a good idea. Sure, things were easier back then and possibly I shouldn't allow myself to judge your relationship. But I'm your friend and I'm Lindsay's friend. I've seen how you've been acting around each other. Things were just fun, without being serious. That's possibly what brought you into all the problems you had. I don't think I have to give you a summary of what has been going on in the past; I think the two of you sorted that out. But still...do you want those times back? Those times where everything was so easy and funny and all of the sudden turned into huge drama because of the lack of seriousness? The feelings were always there, but you just ignored them."

Hawkes paused for a moment, thinking about how to word what else he wanted to say. Then he continued, "Listen, I shouldn't interfere maybe and especially I shouldn't tell you anything about your relationship. I'm sorry for doing that. All I want you to think about is...would you rather like to have those times back? Things were easier in the past, but one thing I can tell you. You want Lindsay to be happy? Did you ever look at her? She is happy. She wasn't happy when you two had all those problems and seemed to crash your relationship right into the next wall. Still the love that's uniting the two of you is strong enough so you could sort those problems out and continue stronger than ever. Sure, your current situation isn't easy at all. You have stressful jobs and a baby and you also want to be together as a married couple. Now all this here happened and made stuff a lot more difficult. Of course I can't read your wife's mind, but no matter how hard everything seems to be at the moment, I truly believe she's happy anyways. And you know why? Because of the way you're acting. Because this time you didn't just push her away as far as you could. Instead you're even getting closer to her, allowing her to be there for you and even searching for support. Knowing that you'll not avoid her but instead even try to be closer to her surely is a great thing for her."

Surprised by Hawkes' long speech, Danny couldn't help but simply stare at his friend for a moment. He knew Hawkes wouldn't interfere or try to judge. He was a very honest person though; something Danny liked a lot about his friend. He didn't fear to tell him exactly what he was thinking. He hadn't had a problem with showing him what he was thinking about his involvement in the blue flu. In such situations Hawkes' honesty could make one feel uncomfortable. At the moment though it had a completely different effect.

"I never saw it like that," Danny admitted then.

"You should though," Hawkes told him. A smile then lit his face and he nodded towards somewhere behind Danny. "I think you don't need me here anymore. Your wife just arrived."

With that Hawkes got up from his sitting position. Before he headed towards the door, he stopped briefly and rested his hand on Danny's shoulder. "Just do yourself a favor. Don't bother yourself with all those worries."

Danny nodded. "I'll do." He watched how Hawkes nodded and turned to leave the office. "And thanks, Doc."

Briefly Hawkes turned around, with a smile nodding in response before he left and headed down the corridor. Turning around himself, Danny was just in time to see Lindsay entering the office as well. He smiled at the surprised expression in her eyes and the happy sparkles he saw in them.

"Hey baby," she greeted him, embracing him gently and kissing him. "I didn't expect you to be here!"

"I know, that's because it was supposed to be a surprise," Danny answered. The soft kiss and hug didn't fail its effect; immediately he felt the cozy warmth he loved so much rising inside him. "My Ma picked Lucy up and I asked her to take me to the lab. I thought maybe I shouldn't be at home all day."

Lindsay smile widened at his words. Again she bent down to kiss him before she sat down where Hawkes had been sitting before. "That's really good," she told him. "I was hoping you'd not spend all the time while you've have to be away from work at home."

"Well, I also came for another reason," he said. Reaching out he took her hands into his, like always enjoying the way her smaller hands fitted so perfectly into his. He had already noticed that years ago when he had wanted to demonstrate something for her. No surprise he had been holding her hand a little longer than necessary back then. "I also came here because I missed you. Might sound like I'm clingy, but I can't really help it."

Satisfied he noticed how Hawkes' theory seemed to be proven right the moment her smile seemed to widen even more. "You're not clingy at all," she answered, squeezing his hands lightly. "I'm happy to hear that."

Danny nodded. "Just another question. I know, it's totally random but I want to ask anyways. Are you happy? I mean, I know things could be easier and stuff, but are you happy?"

He knew he could have just left the conversation the way it was. Something inside him wanted to have an answer from her though, no matter how this answer would turn out to be. To his surprise he noticed how her expression stayed the same when she answered.

"Yes, I am happy," she told him. "I'm happy because it seems like we're closer than we've ever been before. I'm not scared if things stay complicated like they're now, because I know they won't. I'm just enjoying how close we're now."

Danny couldn't prevent himself from grinning at her answer. Who would have expected Hawkes to be that right? "I'm feeling the same way," he replied.

Once again Danny felt the familiar comfortable feeling rising inside her while he smiled back at Lindsay. He believed Hawkes was right. A lot had changed. Everything around them still seemed to go the way it always went. They had changed though. Their whole relationship had changed. They had gotten closer together. Things seemed to be more complicated, but Hawkes was completely right; they were stronger than ever. And the closeness between them definitely was one of the many things that showed just that.

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**Preview: Danny and Lindsay have to deal with their job.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you so much again for all those sweet reviews! It means a lot to me that you're reading this fic, because I love to write it as well, so thanks for reading! Also thanks for adding the story! Huge thanks to Andie24 for being my beta! Special thanks to afrozenheart412, SMacked Hard, uscrocks, saderia, Lola-Ladybug13, DantanaMM, just-off-the-key-off-reason and Hylen! Please continue reviewing! It's always nice to read your thoughts! :)**

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**When Danny was younger, he had never seen himself in the role of a husband and father. To him, that was the furthest thing that could fit to him. Being responsible for at least two more persons, not able to just do whatever he wanted to do without being considerate of this family? To him this was impossible.

But back then Danny hadn't expected he'd meet a woman like Lindsay. All those women he had met had been nice, but none of them had caused anything inside him that could even come close to what people described as love. And one of those women would be the mother of his children? There had been no way he could have seen that happening.

Then he met this beautiful country girl on her first day working for the New York Crime Lab, in the middle of the zoo at the tiger cage, and everything had changed. Not only was she the only one who became neither mad or blush at his comments and teasing but had no problem with teasing back, always prepared with an usually even better comment. This woman from Montana had made the impossible possible; she had caused him to fall for her. Hard. And now Lindsay was his wife and the mother of his daughter, something he still was amazed by.

Currently, his daughter had his full attention. After his first fear of being alone at home with Lucy, Danny was slowly getting used to it. Still he had to stay at home for a bit to recover and to get used to being mobile in his wheelchair. Even though he kept on complaining because he wanted to go back to work, deep inside he was grateful for the time he was allowed to have to get used to this new and very difficult situation.

So far handling the baby at home had been more or less easy. There were still times when the infant was driving him crazy. Once again he was sitting on the couch with her, trying to get her drink her milk, but Lucy seemed to have other plans.

"Come on, baby girl," Danny cooed, trying to fight back his steadily increasing impatience. "I know you're hungry. That's why you've been crying in the first place, right? It's about time for your food, so would you please finally drink?"

Once again he rubbed the pacifier of the bottle over Lucy's lips, but the baby only seemed to press her mouth even closer shut. Glancing down at the uncooperative child, Danny sighed.

"Sweetie, I know you'd rather be breastfed by your Mommy," he said. "I know the bottle isn't as good as the real thing. But she's at work now. You can't wait until she comes home. Don't be so stubborn, okay?"

But instead of doing what she was supposed to do, tears were rising in Lucy's big blue eyes; the first sign that every moment she would start to cry again. Danny couldn't stand this expression of his daughter. It almost physically hurt him to see her cry. Same way he felt about her mother. Gently he pulled her closer against his chest, allowing him to cuddle into his shirt.

"Don't cry, baby girl," he told her softly, gently rocking the baby in his arms lightly. "I can't just carry you around the room, alright? As much as I'd love to, but you have to wait a bit longer. What I can do is feeding you that bottle here though, so would you please let me do that now?"

Danny brought the pacifier back to Lucy's mouth. The rocking had worked obviously because indeed because finally the baby started to suck on the bottle. Sighing relieved, Danny watched her drink. He couldn't help the light smile that lit his face. Only a few years ago, all that had been important to him had been how he could spend his free time after work and who he could meet next. Now questions like when to feed Lucy next and whether he or Lindsay would take care of changing her diapers were the center of his world.

It was the sound of the key being stuck and turned around in the keyhole that caused him to snap out of his thoughts. Immediately Danny's smile widened. Lindsay was home. Their little family was complete again; exactly the way it was supposed to be. Never before he had realised how much he needed the three of them to be together. Now if he wanted to really relax, he wanted to know his wife and child were somewhere near as well. He couldn't help but think that those thoughts were cheesy in his opinion, but he didn't care.

"Welcome home," he shouted. "You're just a little late. I finally managed to convince Lucy that she could also just have a bottle. Would have just waited if I knew you'd come home already."

"Yeah, I forgot to call. Sorry," Lindsay answered, entering the living room as well. She gave him the usual smile like always and walked over to him to greet him with a kiss. But if Danny had learnt something, it was how to read Lindsay's body language.

"What's wrong?" he asked her when she bent down to kiss Lucy onto the forehead. Everything in her behaviour was telling him that something had happened. She was acting shy, arms either folded in front of her chest or her fingers fumbling on her shirt. The most was revealed by her eyes though. She was hiding something and he could clearly feel it.

"Nothing is wrong. Why do you ask?" Lindsay wanted to know, looking at him like he had asked the strangest question ever. It was the moment when Danny noticed the white bandage around her left wrist. Before she could step away, he grabbed her other arm and simply pulled her down next to him onto the couch.

"Fine, let me ask you again. What's wrong?" he repeated.

Lindsay looked back at him for a moment, unsure on what to reply. Then she nodded her head towards Lucy and said, "I think she's had enough milk. She looks sleepy, it's time for her next nap."

Glancing down at Lucy, Danny realised Lindsay was right. The baby had closed her eyes almost completely again, close to falling asleep. Carefully he handed her over to his wife.

"Yeah, then get her back to bed and we'll talk afterwards," he told her.

Once again Lindsay glanced at him briefly before she got up without saying a word and headed over to the child's room. Danny remained on the couch, well aware of the fact she would come back. There was no way she could avoid the following conversation with him. Even though she hadn't said a single word yet, he knew exactly something had to have happened at work; something that was bothering her now. He wouldn't let her keep that to herself.

A couple of minutes he had to wait until Lindsay returned into the living room. Once again she headed over to where he was sitting on their living room couch and joined him. It seemed like he could feel her nervousness. Not needing to hide her bandaged wrist anymore, she started to play with the white fabric, waiting for his questions to be asked. He watched her for a moment with raised eyebrows. The fact something had happened that had caused her to bruise her wrist concerned him.

"Would you please tell me what happened now?" he asked then. Lindsay continued playing with the bandage, avoiding any eye contact.

"It's nothing bad. Just a bruise, it's fine," she answered.

"And how did that happen?" he wanted to know. Slowly impatience started to rise inside him. He could understand how she had to be feeling when he was acting like that; it was like torture.

She released a light sigh. "It's nothing, really. Mac and I have been out to interrogate someone we suspected to be involved in our case. That person obviously already sensed she was in trouble and ran away. I had to tackle her down to stop her and while I did that, I landed on my arm. That's all."

Finally she glanced up at him. Immediately an unsure expression appeared on Lindsay's face though the moment she saw the look Danny was giving her. He had tried to stay as objective as possible. Hearing what she had been doing though caused him to push all caution aside almost instinctively. His eyes widened at her words, his heart started to beat faster at just the thought of her tackling down a suspect.

"Why did you do that?" he managed to ask after staring at her for a couple of moments without saying a word. "You said you were there with Mac, why didn't he take care of her?"

"Because I was faster," she explained, emotions clearly audible in her voice now. "We both chased after her and I was just faster than him. Should I have let her escape?"

"Of course not," Danny replied, trying to control his voice and fighting back the mix of emotions rising inside him at the imagination of her chasing after a suspect and having to tackle her down. "I know you couldn't just let her escape, but..." He paused, sighing lightly at his own words. "It's the way you've been feeling with me as well before, huh?"

"Yeah. And with you it's even worse," she told him, once again sighing herself. "At least I'm careful while you always get yourself in the really dangerous situations."

"Well, not at the moment," he told her with a light smile. When her face stayed serious though, he added, "I know it's our job. I don't feel comfortable with you doing all the action though. I never liked that, even long time before we got together. I know I have to accept that, but I don't have to like it, right?"

He waited for her to answer. Instead Lindsay was looking back at her bandaged wrist though. Once again Danny felt like he could right feel her emotions. Still something was wrong, but he didn't have an idea of what else could be bothering her.

"Did more than that happen?" he asked her then.

Lindsay shook her head. "No. It's just...I don't know. I know I couldn't have let her escape and that's why I took care of her. But...ah, just forget it."

"Oh, no, no, no," he replied quickly. Reaching out, he took one of her hands into his, squeezing it gently. "What's going on?"

Shrugging, she looked up at him again, once again with her unsure expression. "I wish I knew. Lately it's just...I'm feeling like I've been too shy all the times before. I'm feeling like ever since the shooting, I've gotten...more aggressive."

"What do you mean with more aggressive?" he asked.

Again she shrugged. "It's just the way I'm feeling," she tried to explain. "You remember how I told you how mad I was at those shooters? How I wanted to just shoot them myself? It's like since then, I'm more aggressive towards suspects. Towards those who attack others, who shoot at people, not caring what damage they can do with that. Just thinking about this reckless behavior makes me angry. It's one of those guys' fault that you're sitting in that chair now. because they just shot at a bar without caring about the consequences. People never care about the consequences. And then they're just cowards so they run away when they have to face their consequences."

"Is that the real reason why you chased after that girl? Why you made her stop without caring that you could hurt yourself?" Danny wanted to know.

"Possibly," Lindsay answered, shaking her head. "I just have enough of all that at the moment, you know? I have enough of all those cowards and idiots. You've gotten hurt before when you've brought yourself in dangerous situations. But this time all we did was being at a bar. And all you did was protecting me. It's just not fair."

Once again Lindsay looked up at Danny. He could see the anger boiling deep inside her; anger because of people who caused damage to others. People who didn't care, didn't mind and then were too coward to face consequences. She was determined to make those people pay for what they had done, no matter how. He could understand this wish of her, even though he didn't like the fact she was getting more offensive.

"I'm sorry. I know, I'm overreacting," she said then, blushing lightly. "I just...wish I could get revenge for what they did to you. I know I can't, so I at least want to make sure people get the punishment for their actions they deserve."

"It's not stupid," he told her, once again squeezing her hand lightly. "Yeah, sure, if I could decide I'd just lock you at home and make sure no one gets anywhere close to you so you don't get hurt. I have to say I can understand you though. It's possibly something else we have in common. I'm pretty certain I'd act and feel the same way."

Danny chuckled at the surprised look Lindsay gave him in response. She hadn't expected him to react in a way like that. He could imagine she had possibly even expected a freak out. Knowing how his own mind was working though, he could understand her feelings.

"Just make sure you take care of yourself, alright?" he added then. "Don't try to act like me. You see where that gets you."

Despite her current mood, Lindsay laughed at his words. "No, I won't let hostage takers beat me up, don't worry," she answered. Finally relaxing visibly, she moved closer to him and rested her head against his shoulder. Gently he rested an arm around hers and pulled her closer.

"I even have to admit that I like this protective side of you. Even though...well, you could show that in other ways," he said.

Again Lindsay laughed, gently smacking him against the chest. In a more serious voice she continued, "I promise I won't be over aggressive. I don't want you or Lucy to worry."

"Thank you." Danny placed a gentle kiss into her hair. "Maybe it might work better if you didn't take every case so personal. It has nothing to do with what happened to me. Those guys have been arrested and they got what they deserved. They're already paying for their actions." When he heard her chuckle, he glanced down at her, playfully raising his eyebrows. "What?"

"Nothing," she answered, closing her arms even tighter around him. "I just enjoy how wise you're sounding. Seriously, it's another thing I love about us. A constant giving and taking. One day I'm giving you advice, then the next you're doing the same for me."

Danny smiled at her answer. He didn't have to tell her she was completely right. It was something he loved himself; the fact they were constantly balancing each other out. "I'm still waiting for the time when I can give you advice back for all the help you've been giving me lately."

"You already did," she replied.

With that Lindsay snuggled closer against Danny while he held her as close as possible. Both of them possibly hadn't seen each other in a marriage and as parents. Still those were their roles now and to their surprises they had quickly gotten used to that. There were moments where they needed each other and depended on each other. Moments in which they got unsure and confused by their own actions and feelings; sometimes feelings they weren't used to due to the fact a lot had changed over the years. They each had a supportive partner at their side though and the knowledge of that caused a lot of situations to be much easier for them.

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**Preview: Danny and Lindsay talk about his first day at work.  
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	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you so much again for all those wonderful reviews and also thanks to everyone for reading this fic and for adding it! That's so fantastic, you know that? I just realised that my preview for this chapter actually was a preview for the one after this. This one here will be about Danny and Lindsay talking about his first day back at work. Huge thanks to Andie24 for betaing! Special thanks to afrozenheart412, uscrocks, just-off-the-key-off-reason, jennifer32485, DantanaMM, iheartcsinewyork, bookworm2dance, Hylen and Lola-Ladybug13!**

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It was late, work had been finished around two hours ago, and dinner had been eaten around half an hour ago. Still this didn't mean Danny and Lindsay could sit down and spend the rest of the evening with relaxing. There was still their baby to take care of, and Lucy wasn't very interested in simply falling asleep after being fed and changed into a fresh diaper. To their luck she didn't spend the days and nights with constant crying, but still getting the little girl to sleep wasn't easy either.

Apart from that there was still the household Lindsay had to take care of. Since Danny was back to work as well, she had decided to do it on her own. During the time he had been staying at home, he had started to do most of the work he could do, leaving only bits she had to take care of when she came home after a long shift. She had seen the tiny sparks of pride glistening in his eyes when she came home and didn't find the usual amounts of work to do which she had shown him her gratitude for.

Lindsay was more than grateful that Danny was slowly accepting his current situation and was on a good way to gain himself an optimistic opinion regarding the chances to be able to walk again. Those signs had been small, but they hadn't stayed unnoticed to her. Like all the questions full of insecurity, they had become less and less with the time. He had stopped forcing himself to do everything on his own but still had tried to get used to sitting in his wheelchair which had made interacting with Lucy and helping her at home a lot easier for him.

The biggest sign though had been his surprise for her when he had shown up at work to visit her. Many times Lindsay had tried to convince Danny that leaving the house would be something he had to do one day and couldn't avoid for too long. She could understand his hesitation though, his fear to be among people again. The happier she had been when he had shown up at work. All those tiny signs were big changes in her eyes and she was proud to see all of them; something she showed to him as much as she could.

A light smile lit Lindsay's face at all those thoughts. Currently she was trying to get all the fresh washed plates from the dishwasher into the different cupboards and closets. Clearly she could remember how Danny had complained about not making any progress in his eyes; something that had tortured him all the time. Now he had been back at work for the first time since the shooting and during those weeks he had made so much progress that he could be more than proud of himself.

Lindsay's smile widened at the sounds coming from the small room next door. It was their evening tradition; while she was taking care of the rest bits of housework, he was making sure Lucy fell asleep with singing for her or reading a story to her. Currently he seemed to do both at once. Shaking her head in amusement, she chuckled lightly.

Clearly she could remember how she had felt the moment she had looked at that tiny pink stick, seeing the two lines that told her she was pregnant. Still Lindsay remembered what kind of emotions had rushed through her. Panic. Fear. Insecurity. Weeks she had waited until Danny had caught her at the doctors and she had to tell him they were expecting a baby. She hadn't been lying when she had told him she wasn't expecting anything; at this time she had come to a point where she had pulled so far away that she was almost convinced she'd have to deal with those sudden changes all by her own.

But despite all her expectations, she had been wrong. Now, even months after Lucy's birth, Lindsay was still surprised by the way Danny had reacted. He had been surprised at first, possibly even shocked. But quickly he had started to realise what those news that had been dropped on him meant and he had shown her that after the last time he had pushed her away due to the fact he couldn't deal with complicated situations, he had changed. A lot.

So Lindsay hadn't gotten what she had expected. Instead Danny had stayed together with her, had tried to show her how much he wanted to be with her. And their child. Still she was convinced his first proposal had come too fast. Now that they were married though, she was grateful she had agreed to his second attempt. Because with every day he showed her how much he loved her, from the bottom of his heart. All those hindrances, all the bumps they had to get over, had only made them even stronger. Now they were facing one of their biggest challenges but instead of pushing each other away, they were getting closer and closer, giving each other the support they needed.

Looking back at the way their relationship had progressed, Lindsay realised how strong their love had gotten over the years. Just the thought of that caused a warmth to rise inside her that made her smile even more. Other than when she had found out she was pregnant, she knew she didn't have to fear that he wouldn't allow her to be part of whatever difficult situation they had to go through. Finally they were at a point where they were a team, working hand in hand. It was fantastic to know and a great relief, for both of them.

So deep in her thoughts, Lindsay hadn't noticed how the singing in the child's room had stopped. Shutting the dishwasher after emptying, she turned around, almost jumping when she realised she wasn't alone in the kitchen anymore.

"Whoa, I'm sorry, baby, I didn't mean to scare you," Danny told her, not able to hide his amusement at her jumpy reaction. "Just thought you might want to know that Lucy is deep asleep now. I think her Mommy could need some sleep as well though."

Lindsay smiled back at him. "So does her Daddy. Why don't you go ahead to the bedroom and wait for me? I'll follow in a minute. Just let me give her a quick good night kiss."

Danny sighed playfully. "Fine then. But hurry. Or I'll handcuff you to the bed later. You need to rest a bit."

Giving her a playful warning look, he left the kitchen again, leaving her amused shaking her head. He was teasing her again. Lindsay always enjoyed their teasing, but at the moment she was almost longing for it. Seeing Danny's mood was getting much lighter with the time, caused herself to feel happier.

Quickly, Lindsay headed into the child's room. Immediately the familiar strong warmth started to rise inside her the moment her sleeping baby got into her eyesight. The little girl was lying on her back, arms spread wide, the tiny body heaving and falling with every deep breath. For a moment she watched Lucy with a soft smile, gently and lightly stroking over her belly before she bent down and placed a kiss onto the baby's cheek. Carefully and as quietly as possible, she headed back to the door. Once again she threw a glance into the room like always. She knew Lucy would wake up in a couple of hours again, but until this moment she and Danny would have time for some relaxing, some talking and hopefully some sleeping.

Lindsay continued her way through the apartment, now entering her target; the bedroom. She found Danny lying in bed already, resting against the pillow that was propped up against the headboard of their large bed. He was smirking at her; an expression she hadn't seen in a far too long time. Instantly she felt the urge to throw herself at him and embrace him as tight as she could. But instead she smirked back and started to undress.

"Is she still asleep?" he wanted to know, watching every of her movements closely.

Lindsay nodded, pulling her shirt over her head. "Yeah, hopefully for the next few hours. You still need to tell me how your first day back at work went. Was it nice?"

She glanced at Danny, seeing the mixed expression in his eyes. The smirk wasn't there anymore; not the reaction she had hoped to see.

"Can't we talk about that later? I was just enjoying a nice hot striptease," he told her, still with a light teasing sound in his voice, having a serious expression though.

"Striptease, yeah?" Lindsay replied, not responding to his change of mood yet. She would find out what had caused that soon enough. "I think I can do that better, but not today. Today day was long."

Quickly she stripped out of the rest of her clothes before she slid into her short pants and tank top which she always wore for sleeping. Then she climbed onto the bed as well, sat down next to him and covered them both with their soft blanket. In silence they sat there, both of them aware of the conversation that would follow, but once again they were both waiting for either of them to give the other a slight kick to start.

"What happened at work?" Lindsay started then. Usually she wanted to wait for Danny to start the conversation, especially when something was bothering him. But lately he had done that a couple of times and so she thought it was alright to give him a little impulse this time.

"It was alright," he answered. "The case was a little complicated. Luckily I could work together with Hawkes. The man has an unnaturally good working brain I have to tell you. Was a bit frustrating, but at least I didn't have to interrogate that idiot of a suspect."

Lindsay nodded at the short description of his first day back at work. The fact he had left out pretty much every mentioning of emotions and interactions clearly revealed to her that his first day hadn't been nice at all. Carefully she moved closer and rested her head against his shoulder. One of her hands searched for his, gently holding it then.

"Why don't you just tell me what went wrong?" she wanted to know.

Danny was quiet for a moment; the sign she needed to see to know he would open up to her every moment. Then he sighed deeply.

"It was alright, really," he told her. "Just a lot more complicated than I thought. Things are fine at home now, I even can take care of Lucy without any problems. Possibly I expected too much from myself when I came back to work."

"Did you let people help you?" she asked.

Danny nodded. "Yeah, but...I don't know, people were really nice to me and always came when I asked for help. Or they offered help. But...I hate those looks they give me, you know? And I hate myself for hating that. I know they're just trying to be kind and friendly. I should be grateful for that. But I hate to see those sympathetic looks. I don't them to think 'oh, the poor guy, he can't do anything by himself anymore'. First that's not true and second it's just really annoying. I don't want to be looked at like I can't handle my own job. Or like I'm such a poor guy. I'm not! I'm fine. I just...need some time to be back to my old self. I don't need anyone to feel sorry for me."

"I know." Once again Lindsay moved closer, adjusting her position so she could look at him. Once again she found mixed emotions in his eyes. On the one side he understood people's reactions towards him. On the other side he didn't want anyone to feel sorry for him because of his current situation.

"It's hard to suppress such thoughts and feelings I think," she added then.

Danny glanced at her. "Do you also feel sorry for me?" he wanted to know.

"Yes," she answered honestly. "Not in a pitiful way though. I feel sorry because you have to face such complications. No one should have to do that. A person who wouldn't care about your situation...don't you think that would be a bit cold? The fact people feel sorry shows they care for you and want you to feel better. Feeling sorry doesn't necessarily mean someone's pitying you."

Danny continued glancing at her for a couple of moments. Like so many times before Lindsay wished she could simply read his thoughts; even though she often knew what was going on in his mind, sometimes she wished she knew more about what he was really thinking. The light smile that then lit his face all of the sudden and the fact his expression softened again, caused her to sigh in relief inwardly.

"You're a wise woman, baby," he told her, winking at her lightly. "I know I should see it like that. It's not that easy though."

"You'll be fine," Lindsay replied, kissing his cheek softly. "Just give yourself and them some time."

Danny chuckled. "Yeah, I'll give us all time and when we got used to the situation, I can already walk again and everyone has to get used to that."

Lindsay's smile widened at his answer. Not long ago he had pushed the chances to walk again so far away, afraid to be disappointed one day. Statements like that now told her he finally started to believe in himself as well.

"I think we all should be fine, right?" she told him, winking back.

He nodded. "Also Hawkes at least isn't giving me those looks. He's helping me a lot, but he's also not really scared to kick my butt."

"Yeah, he's a great friend," Lindsay agreed. She had been glad when she had heard that Hawkes would work with Danny on his first day back at work. Their friend had been the one who had met Danny on his visit at the lab. Somehow Hawkes knew exactly what to say and what to do in which situation; possibly due to his former experiences as a doctor. There couldn't have been any better person for this job.

Looking at Danny again, she found his eyes had traveled down to her arm, focusing on her wrist now. Instinctively, she rubbed it with her other hand, giving him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, it's fine again. Not hurting at all," she told him before he could even ask.

Nodding, he looked her back into the eyes, still with a question in his though. "And how about the other things you told me about?" he wanted to know. "Still feeling this aggression towards suspects?"

Lindsay shrugged, sighing herself a bit. "It's getting better. I'm not that mad anymore. Still my thoughts regarding them having to pay for the crap they're doing to people didn't change though." She paused, blushing lightly. "Also since you're back at work I...well, if I ever should work with you or see anyone getting too close to you in a way I don't want to see...I think I might be less friendly than I usually am. I know that might sound a little stupid, but I won't let anyone hurt you again. Not if I can prevent them from doing that."

She blushed a bit more at the look he was giving her. Of course she knew he didn't like the idea of her getting after suspects. Next to that, she found something else in his eyes though.

"I know exactly what you mean," he told her then. "Looks like the two of them are becoming more and more similar, huh? Protecting each other...I think that's not that bad. As long as you take care of yourself."

"Same counts for you," Lindsay replied. She was grateful that instead of telling her he wouldn't need her to protect him but instead should rather take care of herself, he understood her perfectly.

"So now that we clarified that," she continued. "Maybe we should use our chance for some relaxing and some cuddling? I'm sure Lucy will want some attention again soon."

Danny chuckled. "Very good idea."

With that Lindsay rested her head back on his shoulder and closed her arms around Danny again while he embraced her as well. More and more she realized what a wonderful team they were. They were working together perfectly, understanding each other and supporting each other. They were stronger and closer than ever. She was proud of their relationship and their family.

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**Preview: Lindsay supports Danny after visiting his physical therapist for the first time.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you so much to everyone for those lovely reviews! Thanks to everyone who's reading this fic and also to everyone who added it! Huge thanks to my sweet beta Andie24! Special thanks to afrozenheart412, uscrocks, Lola-Ladybug13, saderia, DantanaMM, just-off-the-key-off-reason, iheartcsinewyork and Hylen!**

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**When Lindsay had married Danny, she had taken their wedding vows seriously. For her there was no doubt that she wanted to support her husband in every possible situation; in good times and in bad times. Of course she hoped that there would be more good times, but she wouldn't shy away if things could be different sometimes.

The two of them had to go through a couple of difficult situations already, had to get over a couple of bumps, so high neither of them had been certain whether they would handle them or not. Despite all their doubts and fear they had passed all challenges they had to face. Currently they were dealing with possibly the biggest one of those. But thanks to the strength of their love they had gotten to a point where even this challenge couldn't scare them away.

Still there were moments where Danny couldn't simply speak on what was bothering him. Lindsay couldn't deny those moments sometimes made it difficult for her to interact with him. Should she question him? Should she allow him time on his own? There were many different roads she could take and deciding which would be the best for him wasn't always that easy.

Once again Lindsay glanced at Danny. He was sitting next to her in the passenger's seat, staring out of the front window of their car. It was a beautiful day in summer and incredibly hot outside. The sky was deep blue and free of any clouds, with the sun was shining. People were out in the street, enjoying the sunshine, sitting in cafes and trying to cool off again.

She knew he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings though. Once again she could feel he was starting to create a distance between them. His entire body language was telling her how he was feeling. With slightly narrowed eyes, he was staring straight through the window, his hands were clenched into fists, resting in his lap. The reasons for that she knew.

When Lindsay had headed to the practice of Danny's physical therapist, she had had many different kinds of ideas how he might feel afterwards; either he would be even more optimistic than before when it went well or he would be frustrated and disappointed if it didn't go well. Lindsay herself was seeing this first appointment realistic. She had been talking to the therapist before and the woman had told her especially at the beginning he would have to invest a lot of work and suffer a lot of pain to make progresses that possibly wouldn't be worth all the torture in his eyes.

So she hadn't expected much when she had headed to the practice to pick him up after her shift had ended. Deep inside she had hoped the first appointment would have worked well. But the moment she laid eyes on her husband, she knew the opposite was the case. Apart from briefly greeting her, he hadn't spoken a single word yet. And so far she hadn't dared to break the silence. There were moments when he possibly needed to be alone with his thoughts. She could ask him about his appointment later.

In silence they made their way back to their apartment building. The tension which Lindsay could feel ever since she had picked Danny up was slowly getting unbearable for her. The explosion of emotions would come but she knew all she'd get if she asked him now would be a snap, which wouldn't help them at all.

Together they made their way up to their apartment. The constant silence between them caused her to feel more and more uncomfortable. She had prevented herself from helping him, even though she knew he was tired from the appointment. Due to his almost explosive mood she figured it wouldn't have been a good idea. Still the tension even seemed to increase and she could feel her heart beating faster. Moments like this when she was so unsure on what to do or to say to help him drove her crazy, so she was almost relieved when they finally arrived at their place. With slightly shaking hands, she unlocked the door to let them in. Without saying a word Danny wheeled into the apartment, leaving her at the door to lock it again.

"Hey, you two are back already," she heard Danny's mother greeted him when he entered the living room.

"Yeah. Hey Ma," was all he said, and in a voice so low she could have easily overheard him.

Clearly she could hear how he forced himself to answer politely, fighting back the obviously almost overwhelming anger. Once again she could feel a cold rising inside her that she had wished to not feel again anytime soon. This was the way she had been feeling all day and night for a while right after the shooting. The feeling returned whenever a situation was making her feel uncomfortable, was frightening her. Not knowing what to say or how he would react later was obviously causing it as well.

Sighing lightly, Lindsay entered the living room. There she found Danny's mother sitting on the living room couch, concern in her eyes. When she saw her daughter in law enter the room, she got up.

"Did something happen?" she asked quietly, approaching her.

Lindsay shrugged lightly. "I think the therapy didn't go the way he wanted it to."

The older woman nodded. "That's what I thought." She sighed as well. "I think I better go now then. I put Lucy to sleep a few minutes ago. I'll come and pick her up tomorrow the usual time."

Lindsay nodded. "Yeah, of course." She embraced her husband's mother. "Thanks for taking care of her again, Rose."

Rose gave her a warm smile. "Don't thank me for that. She's my granddaughter; of course I'm taking care of her. And you...please take care of yourself. Don't let him snap at you. A wife like you is a treasure."

Lindsay couldn't help but blush lightly at the compliment. She had hoped so dearly that she would get along with Danny's mother. Now it seemed like the older woman couldn't get enough of reassuring her that she was grateful for her son's marriage. "I think he'll be fine," she said then.

Rose nodded again. "Just tell him his father and I love him. I'll see you tomorrow then, sweetheart."

With that she embraced Lindsay again and without any further comment, headed towards the front door. She waited until she could hear the door close again. Then she headed straight towards the bedroom, expecting this to be the place where she would most likely find her husband.

She was right. Stepping through the door of their bedroom, Lindsay found Danny lying on the bed on his side. The blanket was covering him up to his chin and he was staring towards the window, not making any attempts at moving at her appearance. Briefly she stopped in the doorway, watching him. Every bit of him seemed to scream how disappointed and hurt he was and the knowledge of that didn't fail to break her heart all over again.

This time she didn't plan on giving him space though. All the way back home he had time to deal with his anger, but seeing him like that, so defeated and exhausted, was enough for her to push every hesitation aside. Should he snap at her; she wouldn't go anywhere until she had let him get his feelings and thoughts of his chest. Thanks to him she knew about the healing effect of those conversations and there was no way she would shy away from yet another one.

Slowly she walked around the bed and climbed onto the empty space next to him. She lay down on her side so she was able to face him, not giving him a chance to look away. Once again she had to fight back the urge to just throw herself at him and hold him. There were no sparks in his usually bright blue eyes. All she could see was frustration and desperation. After all the time he had managed to cheer himself up to a point where he was convinced things would be fine again, he was back to a point where he wasn't sure anymore.

For a couple of moments she just watched him while he was gazing back at her. He didn't try to turn around or look away. Instead he was looking her right into the eyes, almost seeming to pour his whole emotions into his gaze. Carefully she reached out to him with one hand. Gently she ran it through his short hair before she rested it on top of his.

"Wasn't the best day ever, right?" she asked then.

Danny sighed deeply. "You want me to talk about it so you can tell me things will be all fine, I just have to be patient?" he asked, annoyance clear in his voice.

"No," Lindsay answered. "No, that's not what I'm going to say. I think I told you that more than often enough. I just want to give you the opportunity to talk about what has upset you so much."

"I don't need you to listen to me. I'm fine," he snapped back, glaring at her. "You don't always have to come to the rescue when I'm not in the best mood."

"Is that so?" Lindsay asked back. "So why don't you just see it from another point of view then? What else are you expecting me to do when in the morning everything's fine, you tell me you love me and then when I pick you up all of the sudden you're acting like I'm not existing? What am I supposed to do? Act like nothing happened and ignore the fact that suddenly all your optimism seems to have been wiped away by one therapy appointment? No, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but first I'm not that naive to not see something is wrong and also you mean more to me than that. I won't just let you be miserable and pull yourself down with those thoughts. You know what you mean to me and yes, you have to deal with me asking you what's wrong, because otherwise there is no way I can offer you any help."

Danny continued staring back at her for a moment. Then he rolled his eyes and sighed again. "You're stubborn, you know that?" he replied.

Lindsay chuckled, relieved that he was responding again. "Another thing we have in common then," she said. "So would you care to share why the appointment has been so bad?"

Once again he was silent for a few moments. Then he sighed deeply and shrugged. "It's just so hard," he explained. "Yeah, I'm finally feeling something again. Not much yet, but you know how excited I got when I could finally feel something again in my legs. I've been waiting for that all the time. I was hoping that if I start the physical therapy, I'd soon be walking again. But what happens instead? You have to invest so much strength to make the tiniest bit of progress. It's so painful, it's unbearable. I was in so much pain and it seemed like it just wasn't worth it."

"That's what your therapist warned me off when I talked to her for the first time," Lindsay replied. "She said it'd seem to you like it's not worth; small progresses but a lot of pain."

"Yeah, and that's why I don't want to do that anymore," Danny said. Once again looking her straight into the eyes, he revealed the mix of insecurity and determination he was struggling with. "I know you don't want me to stop, but I can't do that. You can't imagine how painful that is. I know I shouldn't tell you anything about pain and I won't compare it to having a baby. But it's still a horrible pain and it seems like it's not leading to anything. I don't want to do that anymore. It's not worth it. I can't handle all that fighting for nothing. Rather I'll stay in that damn wheelchair. You said nothing between us will change, right? Then I want you to accept that I'm not willing to go through all that crap. I hate to sit in the chair, but it's more bearable than all the pain."

For a moment all Lindsay could do was stare back at her husband. She had expected Danny to tell her something like that, but that he was really determined to stop the therapy but rather stay in his wheelchair surprised her anyways. It took her a couple of moments and a lot of struggling with her rising emotions before she could reply.

"One thing is correct," she told him then, hoping she could control her voice long enough to make her point clear to him. "To me it doesn't matter if you're walking or in the chair; it doesn't change the man you are. But I won't accept your wish to stop. I know you'll want to contradict now and you're making it really hard for me. It hurts me that you're in so much pain and I wish you'd make huge progresses without any pain at all. It's unfortunately not the way it's going to work. I'm trying to be as understanding as possible. But I think sometimes what you need are a few words you make you wake up."

She paused for a moment to take a deep breath. To her relief he didn't use the break to step in but instead waited for her to continue. "I know it's hard and feels like it's not worth it. But tell me, do you really want to sit in that chair forever? Do you want to always have to ask people for help, no matter where you are? And how about Lucy? You told me you miss carrying her around. And you said you want to walk again so we can go to the park with her and teach her baseball. Sure, you can do all that while sitting in that chair, but is that what you really want? Don't you rather want to be able to walk again? Think about all the things you could do if you got through the physical therapy. Aren't they worth all the time, all the pain? It'll take a long time and a lot of patience, but aren't they worth it? I know the easiest way is to stop the therapy and to get used to the way it's now. But one thing I can tell you, Danny, the easiest way isn't always the best. One has to work to reach a goal. Look at us, look at our relationship. Do you think it was always easy? I think you know it was not. But wasn't it worth all the tears, all the exhaustion? I can only speak for myself, but for me it definitely was worth it. So don't tell me you want to stop. I won't just let you do what's the easiest for you, even if that means I'll have to kick you to the practice. You'll do it, for yourself and for us. Sometimes the good things require a lot of hard work and I know later you'll be grateful you didn't just stop. Believe me."

Once again Lindsay locked eyes with Danny. She knew her husband was just as stubborn as her. But this discussion she would win. There was no way she would allow him to stop. Of course she loved him the way he was and would continue to support him in every situation. But she wasn't going to allow him to do something she knew he would regret one day.

Danny looked back at her for many long moments, causing her to get unsure on whether he had understood her or not. Once again he released a light smile.

"I wish it was that easy," he said. "It's so painful and hard. I know I'll be frustrated when it doesn't work the way I want it to. Like today."

"And you'll be even more excited when all of the sudden everything's working better and better and the pain will be less and less," she added.

Despite his still not good mood, a tiny smile played around the corners of his mouth. "You won't let me get away with my wish to stop the therapy, huh?"

"No, and you better accept that," she told him, half teasing, half serious.

Once again he was quiet, thinking about her words. Closely she watched him. Knowing him so well, Lindsay knew what effect those words had on Danny. She had to wait a couple of minutes before he gazed back at her.

"Fine, I'll continue," he said then, still a tiny bit hesitant. "I know you're right and I still want all that. I know I have to work for it, and I have to work hard for it. I can't promise I won't get frustrated anymore though."

"I think we can deal with that," she told him.

Seeing how Danny gave her a soft smile, Lindsay squeezed his hand gently. She knew the physical therapy wouldn't be easy and that they would possibly have more of those conversations where she had to convince him to continue. She could understand him. But she had said it in her wedding vows. She would support him. Even if this meant she couldn't always understand with him. Sometimes she needed to push him a bit and she was willing to give him this kind of support as well.

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**Preview: Danny and Lindsay have to handle a lot of stress.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thanks so much for the nice feedback! Thanks to everyone who's taking the time to read and also thanks for adding my fic! Huge thanks to Andie24 for betaing! Special thanks to afrozenheart412, SMacked Hard, Lola-Ladybug13, uscrocks, just-off-the-key-off-reason, jmc715, saderia, DantanaMM, iheartcsinewyork and Hylen!**

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Exhaustion is a feeling that takes over the entire body, starting slowly and barely noticeable. As it is ignored, it gets stronger and stronger until the body stops agreeing and working with the mind. This is the point where sitting down in a chair could be enough to simply fall asleep so the body can get back what it has been lacking of days, sometimes even weeks or months.

Lindsay was at exactly this point now. During the last couple of weeks she had been constantly working. Day in and day out she had been up, trying to handle work, her baby and her husband. She hadn't complained a single time, never had shown any sign of exhaustion. Instead she had been rushing from one occasion to the next, making sure she got everything done within the day. Then she had simply collapsed in bed, grateful for every hour of sleep she could get.

But even though she was used to stress due to her job, even her body was getting enough of the constant state of work. It had started with her having problems to focus and having a hard time with getting up. Now her legs barely agreed to carry her around the lab. Once again she passed her office, throwing a longing glance inside. There it was, her desk with her desk chair. How much she wanted to sit down, just for a brief moment.

Quickly she glanced around the lab. There wasn't actually anything she had to do at the moment. Actually there was nothing wrong if she just sneaked inside and sat down. She hadn't been able to even sit for the last couple of hours. Throwing another glance around herself, Lindsay opened the glass door to her office and made her way over to her desk where she sat down. Feeling the constant pressure taken away from her legs and the comfort of the thick chair, she released a satisfied sigh.

Finally. Finally she could sit down and relax, just a tiny bit. Almost instinctively she closed her eyes, leaning back in her chair. Just a moment she could close her eyes. It wouldn't disturb anything or anyone.

The next thing Lindsay felt was a light shaking. Squeezing her eyes more shut, she released a light groan, trying to shake the hand that was resting on her shoulder off of her. The hand remained where it was though, continuing to shake her. Now it was companied by a voice, saying her name. It took her another couple of moments until she realised who was talking to her.

"Lindsay? Hey, wake up," the voice kept on talking to her.

"Stella?" Finally realising where she was and who was talking to her, she shot up straight in her chair, almost knocking her friend backwards while she did so.

"Hey, everything's fine, kiddo," Stella replied, half surprised, half amused by the sudden reaction. Lindsay stared up at her with huge eyes.

"Oh, Stella, I'm so sorry," she said, blushing bright red, shaking her head at herself. "I don't know how that happened. I...never slept at work. I just wanted to sit down for a moment. Obviously I fell asleep. Oh, I hope I didn't sleep long?"

"Don't worry, Linds," Stella replied, smiling at her friend. She leant against the side of Lindsay's desk, watching her.

"You've been really tired obviously. Are you alright?"

"Oh, of course," Lindsay answered quickly, trying to give Stella her usual smile to prove she was fine. "Just didn't sleep much last night."

"You haven't been sleeping much lately in general," Stella said. "That's at least the feeling I get."

"Don't worry, I'm just dealing with a bit stress lately," Lindsay answered. The look Stella gave her revealed that she didn't believe her at all. Pulling the other office chair closer, she sat down in front of Lindsay, watching her friend with slightly raised eyebrows for a moment until she spoke again.

"I know you have a lot to do lately, but you know you can always ask for help, right?" she asked then.

"I already told you not to worry," Lindsay replied. The way Stella raised her eyebrows a bit more though made her change her mind though. "It's fine, Stella, really. There isn't much I can ask for, you know? Danny's Mom is taking care of Lucy when we both have to be at work. I have to do my job. And even though Danny's getting much better with his wheelchair, he still needs me to help him sometimes. Also housework needs to be done. I can't just drop that all and relax and sleep as much as I want."

"Of course not," Stella agreed. "But still you can ask for help. Apart from Danny's mother, there can be others who take care of Lucy from time to time so you have some day off after work. Someone else but you can take Danny to physical therapy. Me for example. And I know Hawkes already suggested he'd do that as well. Housework you could also ask for help for."

Lindsay sighed deeply, nodding. "I know, Stella. I know you guys want to help us. I like your suggestion that someone else could pick Danny up, but usually I'm quite glad when I can do that, because then I can also see whether it went well or not. I don't want Lucy to stay at his mother's place for longer because I already feel bad because she has to be there so often. And I don't really want someone else to do my housework." She blushed lightly at her own words. "I sound like some crazy housewife, huh?"

"No, you don't. Not at all," Stella replied honestly. Once again she smiled at Lindsay, showing all the support to her friend. "You sound like you want the best for your family. Do you remember what you told me at the hospital, when you were getting nervous because of Lucy's birth?"

Lindsay blushed even more. "Yeah, of course. Why?"

Stella's smile widened. "You've been so worried back then. And now? Some people barely can handle their own lives, especially not when they have a stressful job like ours. But you're even handling a baby, marriage and help your husband whenever he needs you. That's wonderful the way you're doing it. I can understand you don't want people to interfere; you've created a working plan and if someone interfered, it would possibly only get more complicated. What I want though is that you slow down a bit. Don't think you have to do everything at once. No one's expecting that from you. You're some kind of wonder woman already, but even wonder woman needs a break sometimes."

At the comment, mixed with Stella's smile, Lindsay couldn't help but laugh. "Me and wonder woman?"

Stella laughed as well. "How else do you explain that this was the first time you fell asleep at work?"

Lindsay chuckled, amused shaking her head at her friend. "I think I have to agree with you though. I need a break here and there. I'm really exhausted. I usually can't even sleep in a sitting position and now I fell asleep in my desk chair."

"That's what I meant," Stella agreed. "And that's why you'll go home now. I saw Danny headed home as well a few minutes ago. I guess you planned to pick the baby up after work?" When Lindsay nodded, she added, "Fine. There are still a couple of hours left til then. I'll pick her up and bring her over to your place. And until then you and Danny enjoy some moments to relax, alright?" Seeing Lindsay's surprised expression, she quickly added, "And don't even try to contradict, alright? You'll go home now. If you don't I'll tell Mac you fell asleep at work."

Lindsay laughed again. "As if you would."

Stella winked at her. "Still, did I convince you?"

Once again Lindsay sighed lightly. "Yeah, you did. Fine, I'll go home now and I promise that Danny and I will use the time to relax. Satisfied?"

Stella smirked at her. "Yes, very." With that she got up from her chair. "Oh, and keep one thing in mind. You've got the right to have a break here and there. I don't want to find you to fall asleep at a crime scene one day."

With a wink, Stella left the office. Lindsay, still smiling, shook her head at her friend. Then she got up herself, hurrying to get to the locker room. A few hours of relaxing with Danny were awaiting her.

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When Lindsay arrived at home, she found the apartment quiet, like expected. As quietly as possible she removed her shoes in the hallway and tiptoed over to the bedroom. Carefully she peeked inside, a bright smile lighting her face when she found Danny lying in bed, like expected. Obviously he had had a hard day himself; simply lying on his back, he hadn't even bothered to get out of his clothes or cover himself with the blanket.

She entered the room, on her way already stripping out of her clothes. Then she climbed onto the bed and crawled over to him. For a moment she watched him, still with a bright smile on her face. He looked so adorable while being so deep asleep. And he deserved it.

After his first struggles with his physical therapy, Danny was slowly accepting that if he wanted to walk again, this required hard work and pain. He was determined to reach his goal now and nothing would stop him. This also meant that he was even more exhausted than usual and she was glad he managed to fall asleep and get the rest he needed.

Still the sight of him in his clothes made her wonder how comfortable he was. Carefully  
she moved closer, hesitating for a moment before she took the hem of his shirt into her hands and slowly started to pull it upwards. Like expected though, he stirred at the sudden movement and before she could stop, he blinked and looked up at her, a mix of confusion and surprise in his expression.

"Hey baby, what are you doing here?" he asked, his voice thick of sleep.

Lindsay gave him an excusing smile. "Well, I didn't plan to wake you up. I know you don't really like sleeping in your clothes though."

Danny chuckled. "That's not what I meant. Aren't you supposed to be at work? Not that I mind though. There's no nicer surprise than my wife in my bed."

Lindsay laughed. "Yeah, I can imagine you like that. Stella sent me home because I fell asleep at work. She said she'd pick Lucy up later so we have some time to sleep and relax. Obviously we need it." Inwardly she winced at the guilty expression that immediately appeared in his eyes. "Don't look at me like that. Both of us have been stressed a lot lately."

"Yeah, and you've been working your ass off for months now," Danny replied, pealing himself out of his shirt while she helped him with his jeans. "I've always wanted to make you slow down. I don't want you to collapse one day because you've been working too much."

"You sound like Stella," Lindsay said, lying down next to him. Immediately she felt tiredness taking over again.

Danny turned around so he was lying on his side, facing her. "Well, I think she's right then," he told her. Gently he wiped a lose stray of hair out of her face. "You're an amazing woman. You're a wonderful mother, a great CSI and you're by far the most perfect wife I can imagine. I'm impressed by how you handle all that. But you know, I'd be happy if I heard a 'I need a break, I can't deal with all of that right now' from you here and there. Because I'm really getting worried it's getting too much for you but still you'd keep on working."

The look Danny was giving her revealed to Lindsay he was serious. He was getting honest by her almost workaholic-like behavior. For her it was difficult to slow down. Stella was right; she could remember what she had said at the hospital. All she wanted was the best for her family. No matter what it cost. She also knew that if she broke down because she worked too much, this wouldn't help anyone either.

"Fine," she said then. "I'll try to slow down a bit. I might allow Hawkes or someone else to pick you up at the practice and I'll allow your Ma or others to take care of Lucy a bit more often. How does that sound?"

Danny smiled at her. Gently grabbing her arm, he pulled her closer towards him until he managed to place a gentle kiss against her forehead. "That sounds like a good start to me," he told her.

"Good then," she answered. "And now let's use the time and sleep a bit until Stella shows up here with Lucy."

With that Lindsay moved even closer to Danny and cuddled into his arms, covering both of them with their large blanket. She knew exhaustion wouldn't make working easier for her. She agreed that here and there a couple of breaks to relax would be much needed. Once again she realized how grateful she was for their supportive family and friends. Having that in mind, relaxing would be much easier for them.

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**Preview: Lindsay discusses a topic with Danny that's important to him.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Huge thanks for all the lovely reviews, for reading and for reviewing! Also huge thanks to my beta Andie24! Special thanks to DantanaMM, saderia, afrozenheart412, uscrocks, Lola-Ladybug13, jennifer32485, just-off-the-key-off-reason, Jasmine and iheartcsinewyork!**

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**Lindsay had always been a romantic person. Even as a young girl she had imagined how one day she would fall in love with the perfect guy, who would marry her and who she would have children with. Her dreams had been more or less explicit, depending on either how old she was or how much she was actually interested in that topic. At some point she had seen herself with him, her dream guy, with their children and them living in a wonderful little house, possibly in New York, the city of her dreams. For her this imagination had never failed to make her happy.

This wish hadn't changed. There had been times where she had wondered if there was any way she would ever find this one man she wanted to marry. There had been times where she had been in relationships that hadn't really been romantic. But never her wish to meet this one man had changed.

Then Lindsay met Danny. And she had experienced something she had never expected to happen. Even though this man had nothing better to do but tease her day in and day out, she hadn't been able to resist him, hadn't been able to prevent herself from thinking about him every day, more and more. It had taken her a while until she had understood it. But there had been no way to deny it; she was falling for him and there was no way to stop it.

And so she had fallen in love with a man who hadn't been what she had expected as this one person she wanted to marry. Something just seemed to fit so perfectly she was simply amazed by it. His instinct had made him stay at her side, even though she had pushed him away, so far she had wondered if he would ever come back to her. He had, and he had shown it to her with showing up in Montana at the moment she needed him the most.

Still the thought of how the two of them actually had gotten together brought a bright smile to her face. Together they were since the day in Montana. The kiss they had shared after leaving the courthouse, getting away from the journalists as far as they could, had been the start of it, not their first ever kiss though. Still she could remember how she had kissed him for the first time, at the hospital right after visiting Flack. This one kiss had been what had made them realize there was more. Much more. And almost another year later, they had finally been able to admit it.

To Lindsay it seemed like she had found this man she wanted to marry in Danny. So wonderful it had been to be together with him, to be in love, so much it caused a constant smile to be spread all over her face all day. Never she had seen all the drama that was awaiting them, come. Never had she expected that their still so fresh relationship would have to face such a challenge. And almost fail.

Almost. She had known what he had done, all the time she had known it, and secretly hoped he would show up and explain himself, apologize, do whatever to rescue that relationship that meant so much to her. She had been so hurt, had wanted to break up with him. But even the fact he had cheated on her hadn't been able to make her do exactly that; break up with him. Too much she had felt herself connected to him, too much she was still hoping it had been an accident, nothing else but a stupid mistake. Too much she had hoped they still had a chance.

And so she had given them this chance. Danny had tried his best to prove he knew he had done a mistake, and was willing to never have such a situation happen again. Still Lindsay had felt a strong hesitation. Still there had been this fear, there had been doubts whether her decision was right. And if he would just act like this again the moment another difficult situation happen.

A difficult situation like having a baby; something that was completely unexpected. The moment Lindsay had seen the two little pink lines on the tiny stick, she had known this moment would change everything. Whether those changes would be good or not she hadn't known. Back then she had been overwhelmed. By confusion, because she didn't know what she wanted herself, because nothing like that had been planned any time soon. By fear, because she had no idea how he would react the moment he'd learn about their child. By anger, because she had wished that if she found out she was pregnant, it would be one of the most wonderful moments she could imagine.

But again destiny had had plans for them which she hadn't seen coming. This time in a completely different way. It had come out after a few weeks; Lindsay had known that one day Danny had to find out she was pregnant, and like expected it had happened. But everything else had been different to whatever expectations she had had. He hadn't run away, hadn't run to someone else to get comfort or help. He hadn't pushed her away. He hadn't told her he didn't want what was awaiting them, hadn't even dared to ask her about anything that could point into such a direction.

Instead Danny had managed to surprise Lindsay again. It had been a short moment of shock only. A short moment, and quickly he had been over it. And then he had shown it to her again; the reason why she had once believed he was this one man she wanted to marry. It had felt like a dream at first, but all of the sudden everything had gotten better. She had gotten what she had been dreaming of since childhood. She had married the one perfect man and now had their child. Still they didn't own a house, but even the city was the right one. Her dream had come true. And still she was amazed by the fact it had really happened.

Thinking about all that, once again a bright smile lit Lindsay's face. Lying on her side, she was watching her sleeping husband. She had used the chance Stella had given them. The last couple of hours Danny and her had spent with nothing else but sleeping, getting the rest both of their bodies had been longing for so badly. The sleep had been good for her; Lindsay felt so refreshed like she had just returned from a long vacation.

Danny though was still deep asleep which was the most adorable sight she could imagine. Lying on his stomach, he was facing her, his body lightly heaving and falling with every breath. She had closed the curtains so no bright sunlight could disturb them. Still some sunrays had found their way in between the thick fabric, leaving beautiful bright lines on the walls and the blankets that were covering them.

For a couple of minutes now, she was watching him. She enjoyed to see him peaceful and relaxed like that. The last few weeks had been hard for both of them. Both of them had been aware of the fact that handling job and baby wouldn't be easy. That they would have to deal with such an injury of his as well neither of them had seen coming. Still this situation was just one of those challenges they had to take in the past, and once again one they had successfully handled.

It was a sigh coming from him that caused her to snap out of her thoughts. Shaking her head to clear her mind, Lindsay looked back at Danny, finding her husband watching her through half opened eyes.

"Just admit it. I know I'm hot anyways, so there's no need to hide that you can't get enough of me," he told her, in such a dry, serious tone she couldn't help but laugh.

"You'll never stop saying that, huh?" she asked back, playfully smacking his arm, which earned her a chuckle in response.

"Well, it's just the truth," he answered, winking at her. "Just like it's a fact you're one hot Momma as well." Once again he sighed. "I better not continue that thought or I might just get frustrated again."

"Why that?" Resting her head on her hand to support it, Lindsay watched him. Like usually when she did so, waiting for him to explain something to her, she was gently stroking him again, this time his hand that was closest to her.

"I'm just missing a couple of things," Danny replied then. "Never mind, I shouldn't sound like a whiny baby."

"You don't," she reassured him. "Now tell me, what are you missing?"

Danny rolled his eyes playfully, the expression in them turning serious though. "What am I missing? I think that's kinda easy."

Lindsay nodded. "Sure, things aren't as easy as they have been in the past. There's a lot we had to deal with lately. There isn't much time for sleeping or just sitting there and watching TV or going out. Then again I couldn't imagine doing anything else but taking care of our baby."

"Yeah, same way I'm feeling as well," Danny told her. "But that's not what I was talking about. I miss us...well, being more than just parents and co-workers. I miss myself being more than your partner who still depends on you because still it'll take a while till I can do whatever I want by myself again."

"It'll get better with the time," Lindsay replied, her hand coming to rest on his now. She smiled softly at the way it closed around hers almost instinctively. "Sure, for now Lucy is the focus, and the job is very stressful. But soon things will be easier, especially for you."

Danny groaned lightly. "Yeah, yeah, sure, but...you don't really know what I'm talking about, huh?" When she gave him a shrug, he sighed. "See? That's what I mean. You don't even think about it anymore."

Raising her eyebrows in confusion now, Lindsay looked back at him. "Would you maybe care to explain it to me then?"

Once again he groaned. "I'm missing the sex, alright? Do you even remember what that is? It's how you got pregnant with Lucy."

Something inside her had already expected him to be talking about the topic they had been avoiding a lot lately. The way he brought it up though, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, I remember there was something like that," Lindsay replied, chuckling.

Danny nodded. "Yeah, and we didn't even get close to anything sexual for the last months. And before that...how many times? Three times? Wow. So in the last...half a year or more we had sex three times. Three times! Hell, at the beginning we've been doing it every day at least three times."

Even though Lindsay could feel the topic was serious for him, she had a hard time with not laughing at Danny's little outburst. She knew in the past sex had been an important part of their relationship. Soon it had been pushed to the second place, being replaced by the strong love that was uniting them. He was right though. During the last half a year they had barely gotten intimate at all; something she hadn't even noticed like that and which now surprised her.

"I think that's because we had to deal with other stuff," she explained then. "I mean, we did it quite a while until I could...well, not move that well anymore. And then we got back to it around six weeks after Lucy's birth."

"Yeah, that's the three times I was talking about," Danny interrupted her, no joking in his voice anymore though. "And then? Then all that shit happened."

What had started as an almost amusing conversation quickly had turned into a serious topic within a couple of moments. Lindsay could see the anger glistering in Danny's eyes and she knew that she had to be careful with what she would response. It was one of those situations in which she could either help him or hurt him a lot.

"Well, but honestly, do you think it'd make sense to just have a quickie in between all that stress?" she asked then. "There's been so much going on. We had Lucy and the jobs and needed to handle that. Then the shooting happened and we had to solve that while you were in the hospital. After that we needed to get used to this new situation. There was no time for anything like that. But it doesn't mean it'll stay like that. Look at how great we're handling Lucy and the jobs now. And soon you'll also be able to walk again. I talked to your therapist and she told me what huge progresses you're making. It's getting better and better. Soon you don't need that chair anymore and again everything will be much easier for us." Gently she squeezed his hand to emphasize her words. "It's just a question of time and patience."

"What if it doesn't even work anymore?" he asked in response. The look he was giving her at this point almost broke her heart yet again. Somehow she had expected to hear such a comment when Danny had started this conversation. During the first time Lindsay hadn't had any time to even think about this topic yet. Something inside her had waited for him to bring it up though.

"Why shouldn't it?" she asked back. "There's no reason why it shouldn't work anymore. Even back then when you didn't feel anything, it could have worked. It's what your therapist told me as well."

"Why did you talk to her about that?" Danny wanted to know, a disgusted expression on his face now.

"It was just something she mentioned once. That's all," Lindsay explained. "She said it might work even back then, and especially now that you can feel something again. There's actually no physical reason why it shouldn't."

"And what if there is? What if it's not working? What will you do then, huh? Just say 'oh, who cares, it's not important anyways'? Sorry, but that's just one big lie," he replied, his voice clearly showing his anger now.

Lindsay sighed lightly. She had hoped to not get into such a dangerous conversation again; a conversation that was full of insecurity from both sides and which once again focused on one of his fears.

"You know, I think whatever I say now will only cause you to either call me a liar or get mad at me, right?" she said then.

Danny, caught in his own confusing thoughts, glared at her. "How about you just are honest? You want me to be honest, so I think I can ask for the same as well, right?"

Once again he was snapping at her, out of fear, so much she knew. Lindsay also knew that always showing her understanding side wasn't what Danny needed either. He was beginning to doubt himself and she knew what helped best in such a situation.

"So, you think I'd lie at you, yeah?" she asked, sitting up straight now. "So what do you think I'm thinking and doing, huh? You once said you know me just the way you know yourself. What will I do in your opinion? Force you to sleep with me and then when it doesn't work tell you 'well, sorry, your problem' and rush off to the next best man? You think that's why I've been scratching my ass for you all those months? Is that what you believe?"

Staring him right into the eyes, Lindsay waited for Danny to reply. Like she had thought, he hadn't expected such a forceful reaction by her and so was only looking back in confusion and surprise. His expression was saying more than words.

"You know I married you for a reason, right?" she continued then. "I didn't marry you because you're such a fantastic lover. You are, but that's not why I fell in love with you. Yes, sex is important, in every relationship, and also in ours. It always was. But didn't you notice that apart from that, there's a lot more than matters? Didn't you realize that somewhere along the line we've fallen in love? It's why I agreed to marry you. Because I love you. Not because of your ability to satisfy me. I love you because you're a wonderful person. Because you care about me. Because you're willing to fly across the country to support me. Because you sit next to me, holding my hands while I'm in labor and telling you to never touch me again. Because the first thing you did in that bar was throwing yourself at me to protect me. It's what makes me love you. I hope that the other part of our relationship will work as well again one day. Now that you mentioned it, it would be wonderful to be intimate with you again and I miss it as well. But it's not that important anymore that I'm even thinking about it."

She paused for a moment, fighting back the emotions that were all of the sudden rising inside her. Then she added, "You know what I've been busy with? I've been busy with hoping you'd feel better soon, because I want to see you smile again. I've been busy with looking forward to coming home to my husband and our baby. Yes, I miss the sex as well. But it's nothing I'm actually thinking about, because primary I'm just happy to see you getting better at the moment. And Lucy is learning something new every day. Call me a liar if you want to, but if I had to choose between sex and seeing Lucy starting to make her first noises and you trying to make your first steps again, I would always choose the latter. Yeah, you're right, we've been having lots of sex at the beginning. And then? Did it make us strong? Obviously not, because we almost broke up. Now look at us. Look at what we have. I know it'll work again if you give yourself some time and if you're patience. You know, if you're trying to force yourself, it won't work at all. It only will when you stay patient and allow yourself whatever time you need. There's no need to hurry. It's not everything. And even if we have to wait another few months, or even a year or longer, who cares? It will work again one day, and until that there's a lot more that matters, right?" Once again she squeezed his hand. "Right?"

With new nervousness rising inside her, Lindsay waited for Danny to respond. He looked back at her for a couple of moments in silence, thinking about her once again long speech. Then he sighed again, but this time his face looked a lot softer than before.

"Are you serious about what you just said?" he asked carefully.

Playfully, Lindsay rolled her eyes. "Isn't that what you're feeling yourself?"

Danny chuckled lightly; much to her relief. "It is. I just wanted to make sure you're really feeling like that as well. I know I have to be patient, but...well, I was just scared. I was scared that I have to hurry now that it's getting better."

"You don't have to hurry at all," she reassured him. "Like I said, if there's all that pressure on you, it won't work anyways. You need to wait. One day there'll be the right moment and everything will be just fine."

"You're very optimistic," he told her.

Lindsay smiled. "No, I'm just realistic. And I was right when I told you you'd also be able to walk again, right?"

"Yeah, you were." It was his turn to roll his eyes at her, but he also smiled. "You're just wonderful, you know that?"

Lindsay's smile widened. "That's why we fit together so perfectly."

Danny nodded, smiling back as well. Once again he watched her in silence before he spoke. "Now we still have time until Stella shows up with Lucy here," he said. "Maybe we could...I mean, we don't have to sleep with each other now. But at least we could...have some cuddle time or something."

Lindsay couldn't prevent her smile from changing into a grin at his suggestion. "Yeah, that sounds good to me," she answered.

And with that Lindsay allowed Danny to pull her into his arms, embracing her tightly. She had thought that as a child she had been some kind of a hopeless romantic. Now she knew that all her dreams had been very realistic; because all of them had come true. Surely everything couldn't always be funny and great. But the wonderful moments were more than worth it. True romance wasn't just an unrealistic dream; it could happen. They were experiencing it and she had to admit possibly she was even more romantic now that she knew how those dreams could feel like when they became true.

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**Preview: Danny and Lindsay are enjoying relaxing and being close.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Aww, thank you so much for all those sweet reviews! Also huge thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this fic and for adding it! Huge thanks to Andie24 for betaing! Special thanks to afrozenheart412, uscrocks, saderia, Lola-Ladybug13, lovelytiff and iheartcsinewyork!**

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**When Lindsay told Danny they were going to have a baby, both had agreed they wanted to raise the child together in one apartment, long time before they had gotten married. They had decided to move into a completely new apartment, with an extra room for the baby. For both of them it was also a chance to move on and leave certain chapters of the past behind as well. It was like just another fresh start.

During her pregnancy, Lindsay had felt the urge to decorate the baby's room more with every day. Danny had watched it with amusement, willingly helping her with getting everything she wanted to get done. Back then there had been no way for him to say no to anything she wanted him or them to do. Apart from that he had been very excited himself.

Still Lindsay had to smile when she thought about how Danny had acted during her pregnancy. He had always been very protective of her. But during her pregnancy he had acted like she was made of glass. No one was allowed to get too close to her, no one was allowed to touch her, to say anything mean to her. She was his wife, she was carrying his baby. He had to take care of her, no matter how. Sometimes this behaviour had annoyed her, especially when he was acting like her personal bodyguard around her, but also she enjoyed this side of him, knowing he would try everything to keep her save.

Now, months later, she could completely understand his reactions. Always she had felt this close connection, not wanting anyone to get too close to Danny either. Before she had thought she was just being jealous sometimes. Slowly she was realising that behind her behaviour, there was much more.

Since the shooting she could feel an almost overwhelming protective feeling rising inside her whenever the two of them left their apartment building. The fact he had gotten hurt and no one had been able to prevent that from happening obviously had caused her to change her attitude. All of the sudden it wasn't just her wish to keep other women away from the man who was now her husband. Also she didn't want to get anyone too close to harm him in any way.

So far Lindsay had kept those thoughts to herself though. She knew Danny wouldn't like her to even think about being the protective one as well; it was his job in his opinion. He was the man, he had to protect his family. Lindsay didn't share his opinion however. Once he had been hurt by people she wouldn't let that happen again.

But she couldn't share those thoughts with him, especially not right after his injury. He had felt weak already, not able to move the way he wanted to move. She didn't want to increase this opinion he had about himself. She wanted to make him stronger, not feeling even weaker. Still the instinct was there; she wanted to protect him, never letting anyone hurt him again.

So Lindsay had changed, like she had all the time since she had moved to New York. She wasn't just an individual person anymore. She was part of a family, her own little family. When she had talked to Stella about her fears, she hadn't just been freaking out. She was serious. Her biggest fear was that her family could get into trouble, that any of them could get hurt, in any way. Since she knew she was going to have her own little family, Lindsay had felt a strong instinct rising inside her; the instinct to protect this little family, no matter what. And the shooting had increased that feeling a lot.

Standing in the child's room of their baby, Lindsay watched the sleeping child with a soft smile. Lucy was lying on her side, curled up in a ball while the soft blanket was covering her tiny form. It was dark in the room, but not too dark so the little one wouldn't be scared if she woke up in the middle of the night. The sight was heart warming and Lindsay couldn't get enough of it. She and Danny loved their little daughter from the bottom of their hearts. Still both of them were amazed by the fact it had been them who had created this new little person. Lindsay felt slightly crazy when she thought like that, but it felt like a wonder. A tiny wonder.

Their wonder. Lindsay always had been convinced that a child couldn't fix a relationship. People never should decide to have children to rescue their love with it. In her eyes this was impossible. Now she wasn't that sure anymore. She wouldn't go so far and say having Lucy had fixed their problems. The new situation had rescued their relationship, so much was for sure. Not because of the baby itself, but because of all the consequences her pregnancy had had. All of the sudden, they had to talk; something neither of them had been good with before. All of the sudden they had to solve their problems like adults. And together.

Lindsay wouldn't say having Lucy had been the magical cure for all the problems they had had. But it had caused both of them to wake up. Lindsay felt like she had woken up from some kind of a dream like shape. All of the sudden both of them, she and Danny, had been able to admit their feelings for each other. All of the sudden they had been working like a perfect team, hand in hand. And it had worked perfectly.

So in fact it was no surprise Lindsay was willing to defend this little family with everything she had. Never would she allow anyone to get too close to Lucy to hurt her. And she would make that no one could hurt Danny again in any way. She wasn't the tallest and strongest woman one could imagine. But she was filled with love for those two persons and she was determined; all she needed to be successful.

Carefully reaching out, Lindsay stroked over her baby's cheek. The little one tensed lightly, continued sleeping though. Quietly she headed back to the door. It was late and she was feeling the tiredness taking over again. The day had been hard, like every day. Still she felt much better than she had only weeks ago. The stress she was used to and now that Danny was able to help her a lot more, she didn't have to deal with everything by her own. Also the two of them had gotten great with handling their jobs, baby and everything else.

The most important part that had changed though was the fact that now Danny was much more confident of himself and his own abilities. He was working towards his goal, steadily and willing to make it happen. He wanted to walk again, no matter how much afford this cost. He had stopped thinking his attempts were worthless. He was accepting every aspect of the situation, no matter how big it was and he had stopped trying to suppress his anger when things didn't go as quickly as he wanted them to. He had gotten more open to his current situation and was allowing her to be a main part of it. It was a great relief for her and she was glad to see him making progresses, physically but also mentally.

Quietly Lindsay walked back to the bedroom. She knew Danny had gotten to bed already and she was more than willing to join him. Entering the room, she found him sitting in bed, waiting for her. She couldn't quite explain why, but the situation caused a strong warmth to rise inside her. So many times she had been dreaming of such moments; bringing their child to bed and then joining her husband in theirs, spending the time with talking or cuddling. There wasn't anything more perfect she could imagine at the moment. Nothing could cause such wonderful feelings than a loving family. A place one could go to after a hard day, always knowing there was at least one person who cared, who was willing to cheer one up again.

"Is she sleeping?" Danny wanted to know. Lindsay knew the question wasn't meant to get him information. He knew Lucy was asleep; otherwise she wouldn't have returned to the bedroom already. He wanted something. His statement alone didn't reveal that. She knew him so good though that every change in his voice, every word, even every glance could tell her what was going on inside his mind.

"Yeah, hopefully she's having some nice dreams so we can have some sleep as well," she answered, climbing onto the bed as well. With a deep sigh she collapsed on top of the covers, closing her eyes. The cool of the soft fabric against her skin felt wonderful. Wiggling lightly, she pushed it aside beneath her then so she could cover herself with it as well and join Danny under it.

And then she understood. Glancing up at Danny, her eyes met his. The expression in his eyes she hadn't noticed before when she had entered the room. She knew this expression. It was the proof that he wanted something. And she knew exactly what he wanted.

Releasing another sigh, Lindsay lay down next to him, wrapping the blanket around herself. Once again she looked at him, finding her husband still watching her closely, every of her movements. The look he gave her caused her to shudder lightly. So long she hadn't seen this look. This expression, clearly revealed one feeling. Desire.

Lindsay had been honest when she had told Danny that sex wasn't all that mattered in their relationship. Every word she had told him had been the honest truth. There were other things that mattered in their relationship. Like this strong love she had never experienced before. It was important to her and nothing else was getting anywhere close to that. Still she had missed this certain tension between them, those sparks. It had always been there, but lately had been pushed far to the side.

Something inside her had missed this tension though. There had been too much happening. Too much stress. Their roles as parents, co-workers and supportive partners had been most important to get them through the biggest challenge they had to face so far. Apart from that there had been other hindrances that had kept the lust to a minimum.

Which seemed to change now. All of the sudden it seemed to return. Suddenly she could see those old sparks in Danny's eyes again, and they didn't fail to have such a strong effect on her, like all those times before. She wanted him. Lindsay wanted him to much. She had always been convinced that sex and love belonged together and that feelings were what made physical intimacy even more fascinating and enjoyable.

And all of the sudden she couldn't step backwards again. She wanted more. Just a little more than their usual cuddling. Reaching out, she ran her hand through his short hair, enjoying the feeling of it between her fingers. She let it trail downwards, brushing over his cheek while she did so. The sensation of his warm skin beneath her fingertips sent delicious shivers down her spine, the expression in his eyes increasing the effect.

Gently she let her fingers brush over his arm, noticing the way the strong muscles flexed instinctively at her touch. All the time she kept her eyes locked with his, locked in the magical tension between them that was so unique and so them and still so exciting like it was the first time they were that close.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," he said suddenly, causing her to snap out of her thoughts, staring at him in slight confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked, even though she had a clear suspicion already.

Danny sighed lightly at her question. "Why? Because you know where this usually leads to."

"And where's the problem with that?" she wanted to know. Lindsay could feel he was struggling with what he wanted to say. Even after their previous conversation, this topic was still one of his sensitive spot. Clearly she could feel his hesitation and insecurity and so much she just wanted to wipe it away.

"Do you feel like I'm putting any pressure on you? Or do you feel like you're doing that to yourself?" she asked then when he hadn't replied after a couple of moments.

Danny shrugged. "I just...well," he started, pausing again while still gazing her right into the eyes. She could see all the thoughts that were running through his mind; too many thoughts that shouldn't be there, too many thoughts that weren't necessary. She knew all that was holding back was his own fear to fail. Which had never happened in the past because he had never bothered to even think about it. Now it was the primary thought in his mind and she knew that those thoughts could be responsible for his fear to come true.

But she wouldn't let this happen if she couldn't interfere somehow. So without responding to his former words, she moved closer towards him. She could feel him tense lightly, only a tiny bit moving away from her. But she wasn't that easy to stop.

"You said you miss this, didn't you?" she asked softly. She was so close to him now that she could feel his hot breath on her face. While one hand was supporting her body on her side, she allowed her other hand to come to rest on his shoulder. It remained there for a moment before she let it travel downwards, over his chest. She felt him shudder lightly at the touch, causing her to smile lightly.

"Listen, I really don't know if that's a good idea," he told her, the sound of his voice showing he wasn't convinced by his own words though; all the encouragement she needed to continue.

Her hand traveled further down his chest and disappeared under the blanket until she reached the hem of his shirt.

"Are you in pain?" she wanted to know, making sure she wouldn't hurt him with what would possibly come next.

"No," he answered, already distracted by what she was doing. Her smile widened lightly when she let her fingers slip beneath his shirt.

"Good," Lindsay almost whispered. Bending forward, she brought her lips so close to Danny's that barely an inch was separating them. Gently she pressed her hand against the warm skin of his hard, muscular stomach. Ever so slowly she let her hand move upwards, causing him to shudder once again.

"Just so you know," she whispered against his lips. "This isn't about succeeding or failing. It's just about whatever it'll lead to. That's all. I want you. I want to feel you. I want to kiss you. I don't care how far that goes. It doesn't matter. I just want to be close to you."

And with that she kissed him. Like she had expected, the kiss deepened immediately and before she could do anything else, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her flush against him. Due to the sudden movement, her hand had slipped out from under his shirt. Instead she had found something else that caught her attention even more; something that definitely didn't stay unnoticed by him either.

Pulling back lightly, trying to catch her breath again, Lindsay found Danny gazing up at her, the desire in his eyes increased, but also mixed with the warmth she loved so much.

"You know when all the right moments are, don't you?" he asked her softly.

She smiled back at him. "It's just what makes us such a great team," she replied.

Smiling back at Lindsay, Danny nodded. Once again she allowed him to pull her close against him into yet another deep kiss that promised so much more. A lot had changed since they had their own little family. The strong wish to support and protect each other belonged to that, showing that they had understood they weren't just only responsible for themselves anymore. They were a team, and if they wanted to work together, they had to watch out for the small signs, had to learn to read each other's minds to find the right moments for the right actions.

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**Preview: Danny understands that he should listen to Lindsay more often.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Huge thanks to everyone for those wonderful reviews! Also thanks for reading and for adding this fic of course! Thanks so much to Andie24 for betaing! Special thanks to uscrocks, afrozenheart412, just-off-the-key-off-reason, saderia, Lola-Ladybug13, SMacked Hard, iheartcsinewyork, jmc715 and Iliana!**

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**Every morning was some kind of a fresh start. This was at least what Danny thought. The day before could have been so messed up, so annoying, so frustrating. The next day everything started again, right from the beginning. Not always problems from the day before were forgotten, but in some ways it still felt like every day one got a second chance.

Danny had gotten a lot of second chances in the past. Mac had given him a second chance back then when he had been involved in the shooting when Officer Minhas has been killed. He and Louie had gotten a second chance after his brother had been beaten up badly. It had been the event that had finally brought the two men together, had made them do the step they had been scared of over the years, had made them be brothers again. Lindsay had given him a second chance after he had almost ruined their relationship. And even after the shooting, he had gotten a second chance, even though everything seemed to have been so hopeless.

He had gotten the chance to learn how to walk again. Months after that, Danny could still remember how he had been feeling back then, when he had realised he had no feelings in his legs anymore. How much he had feared that never again he would be able to walk. That he would have to sit in his wheelchair forever. Never before he had known how important and wonderful something was that had always been normal to him.

But despite everything he had feared, he had gotten his second chance. Slowly, very slowly he was learning how to walk again. Not in the easy, funny way Lucy did. Every step he made required a lot of exhaustion and strength, every step caused a lot of pain. But it was worth it, and despite his frustration at the beginning, he had now started to understand that it was worth it.

Now, months later, Danny also had to admit that his disability to walk had also had its good sides. The time in the wheelchair had made him realise how grateful he should be about the small things in life. Like walking. Like not having to ask if he wanted something he couldn't reach by himself. Like carrying Lucy around when the baby refused to sleep. All those things he was longing for and he was determined to pay more attention to them from this time on.

Lying in bed, Danny was listening to Lindsay, who was preparing breakfast in their kitchen. It had become an early morning tradition to them; breakfast in bed. It was easier for them to do it like that, and more comfortable as well.

Listening to the busy noises, Danny smiled lightly. He was well aware of how great the two of them were working together. Despite the still very uncomfortable shape he was in, things seemed to be so much easier with his supportive wife at his side, who was never getting tired of encouraging him, over and over again.

Imagining her in the kitchen, his smile changed into a grin. So many times he had joined her in there, with the purpose to help her, but usually it had ended with them quickly heading back to the bedroom, not caring about breakfast anymore. Things weren't that easy at the moment. Still there was in fact nothing that was speaking against him joining her in the kitchen anyways.

Briefly Danny glanced at his wheelchair, like always right next to the bed so he could reach it. But everything inside him was straining against the thought of using it. Too much time he had to sit in it already, so many times it had kept on frustrating him because it had been such a huge hindrance in so many situations.

Carefully he moved closer to the edge of the bed. Still moving wasn't easy for him and when he was finally sitting at the edge with his feet on the warm, laminated floor, he wondered whether his sudden plan was a good idea or not. He didn't want to pull back again though. He had a goal and like all those times before, he wanted to work towards it. It was what Lindsay was teaching him for weeks now, and somehow his wife had managed to get through to him.

Taking a deep breath, he reached out and grabbed the handles of his wheelchair to use them as support. Carefully, inch by inch, Danny got up from the bed into a standing position. He clenched his teeth and the pain that immediately shot through his body. The pain was familiar though, and with the right breathing and some concentration, he was able to fight it off as good as possible so he could continue moving.

Finally in a standing position, Danny's hands remained closed around the handles of his wheelchair. Like every time he had to walk, he was frightened what happened the moment he'd move. Would he be able to keep himself in a standing position? Would the pain overwhelm him? Wouldn't his legs be able to support him? But like all those times, he pushed those nagging questions away. Instead he focussed on his goal and reached out to press a hand against the near closet.

Using the closet for support now, Danny dared to make his first step. Still with clenched teeth, he struggled with the pain in his back while moving. It wasn't strong enough to stop him though. Slowly he made his way over to the bedroom door, every step seeming to be hard work like running up the stairs of a whole skyscraper.

Step by step Danny continued his way. Briefly he stopped after leaving the bedroom door behind, resting against the doorway to gain some of the energy back he had to use to move. He could still hear Lindsay working in the kitchen; so far she hadn't noticed him and he wanted it to stay like that. He wanted to reach the kitchen and surprise her before she was finished.

And so he continued. Ever so slowly and carefully, Danny made his way along the wall that led to the near kitchen; luckily one of the closest rooms to the bedroom. The pain was increasing, but nothing was going to stop him. Closer and closer he got to the kitchen.

And then he reached his goal. Tightly grabbing the doorframe to support himself and keep himself on standing, Danny glanced into the small room, finding Lindsay moving around between kitchen table and stove. She was so deep in her thoughts and busy with what she was doing that she didn't notice his presence at all. Using the chance to get his laboured breathing back to normal, he watched her for a moment. Once again a smile lit his face at the sight. Just watching her like that was enough to brighten his mood. Funny he found that she had told him he could do the same miracle to her.

"I always knew you country girls love to cook," he said then, causing her to snap out of her thoughts immediately. Gasping in surprise, she dropped the piece of bread she was holding, spinning around to the door. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of her smiling husband and she needed a couple of moments to actually respond to him.

"Danny, you...don't tell me you walked all the way to the kitchen," she managed to say, still with disbelief and surprise in her voice.

His smile widened. "I did. Thought you could use some help and I wasn't in the mood for that stupid thing." Leaning against the doorframe, he added, "Now as much as I love that I actually made all the way over here, I'd be glad if you could somehow get me over to the table."

"Of course." Snapping out of her surprise finally, Lindsay hurried over to where he was standing, allowing him to lean on her for support. Carefully she led him over to the kitchen table to sit down on one of the chairs. The feeling of not having to stand anymore caused him to sigh in relief.

"Boy, that was harder than working a full double shift," he said, shaking his head. Glancing up at Lindsay, who was standing in front of him, he raised his eyebrows lightly at her expression. "What? Something wrong?"

Smiling at him, she shook her head. He could see the strange look she was giving him, but also the way her smile clearly revealed why she was doing so. "You've never tried to walk at home before," she answered softly.

Danny shrugged lightly. "Yeah, well, I was just fed up with climbing into that chair every time I want to get somewhere. Even though I would have been faster with it." He blushed lightly. The look she was giving him was causing it. He could see the emotions rising in her eyes and he could understand where they were coming from. He knew how much she had wanted him to continue his therapy when he had been so close to just quitting it. He also knew how grateful she had been for every appointment he had agreed to, no matter how frustrated he had been afterwards. Seeing him struggling like that without anyone needing to tell him so was something that had caught her by surprise. And that caused a wonderful feeling to rise inside her.

"I'm proud of you," she told him then, her smile widening. "Are you seeing all those progresses you've been making now? Do you see how far you've come since the beginning?"

Danny's face reddened more at her question. "Yeah, yeah. I know you told me so. You told me to not give up and keep on working for it."

Lindsay chuckled. "That's not the way I meant it. I just want to know if you finally believe that all the effort is worth it."

"You mean all that pain and stress, all the minutes and hours it took me to make one single step?" he asked back. "Yeah, I know it's worth it now. I can see it's working. Months ago if someone told me I'd be able to walk all the way from the bedroom to the kitchen by my own, I'd told them they're stupid."

"And still it's what happened." Taking another chair from away from the kitchen table, Lindsay sat down in front of him. "How are you feeling now?"

"Apart from my back aching like crazy?" he asked, half joking, half serious. "I'm quite relieved." He paused for a moment. Somehow what else he had to tell caused him to feel strange; there were things in his mind that were important to him now but which he had never paid any attention to before.

"What else did you want to say?" Lindsay wanted to know when he hadn't spoken even after a couple of moments.

Sighing lightly, he shrugged, looking away to hide the fact he was still blushing. "Nothing special. I'm just...well, crazy maybe. You know, I've tried to be as optimistic as you, but somehow there's always been that fear that the doctors one day would tell me they're sorry but they were wrong and I'd have to stay in that chair. Even when I could feel something again, it was still there, that fear. And I...well, I was so mad, you know. I was so mad because all the time before when I've been able to walk, I've been complaining about being too lazy to walk down the stairs but rather took the elevators. Or to head to the next subway station but rather let me pick up by a cab. Now all I want is to do all that by myself again. I'd have never thought how much I'd miss the ability to walk. It's been so normal to me, and all of the sudden it seemed to be almost impossible." His face was bright red now. "I know that sounds stupid."

"Why should it sound stupid?" Lindsay wanted to know. The soft tone in her voice caused him to look up at her again. Still he found her smiling, with an expression he had seen so many times before.

"There's nothing stupid about that," she told him then. "Not at all. It's even the truth. You don't know how glad you can be that you can walk all by your own until you get into such a situation. It's a good thing you realised that it's something one should be grateful for. That's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Once again he shrugged. "Possibly. At the moment I just want it to work normally again."

"And you just made a huge step into the right direction. Literally," she replied, her smile widening.

Danny couldn't help but smile himself. "Yeah, true. If I can walk normally again, probably all I'll do all day might be running around, no matter how far I have to go."

"Yeah, and when Lucy is older you can finally teach her baseball, like you wanted to," Lindsay added.

Danny's smile turned into a smirk. "There's a lot I'll do then. All stuff I can't do right now. Just hope I'll keep in mind how glad I am that I could get back to where I've been before. Not everyone has that luck."

"No, not everyone does," she agreed. "But you do. And you've been working hard for it. I don't think you'll ever forget that."

"And if I ever do so and start complaining again, remind me of it, alright?" he asked with a wink.

Lindsay laughed. "I will, don't worry." Bending forward, gently grabbing his hands to squeeze them in a happy gesture, she placed a kiss onto his lips. "I'm proud of you, and you can be proud as well. Just keep in mind what a goal you have and soon walking won't be a hurting torture anymore. You'll see."

Danny laughed as well. "Yeah, I got it. Always listen to you."

Laughing again, Lindsay gave Danny another kiss. He could feel her relief and excitement and he had to admit he wasn't feeling any different. Times had been hard and difficult and he had to suffer a lot to get to the point where he was now. He also knew the path to reach his goal was still difficult and rocky. But he was more than willing to invest as much energy as he needed to. He had gotten a second chance again. The chance to walk. And he would try everything to use it.

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**Preview: Danny, Lindsay and Lucy spend some time together. This leads to an honest conversation between them.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Huge thank yous to you all for the lovely reviews! Also thanks for reading and for adding the fic of course! Huge thanks to Andie24 for betaing! Special thanks to just-off-the-key-off-reason, afrozenheart412, saderia, uscrocks, Lola-Ladybug13, jennifer32485, SMacked Hard, nciscsinyluver and iheartcsinewyork!**

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**When Danny and Lindsay had decided to move in together, they had made sure that their new apartment would have a nice little room for their baby. A room which they could decorate for the little one, a place where they could play with her and where later she could take her friends to, if they hadn't already moved into their own house yet.

Now the little room was perfect in Danny's eyes. When he and Lindsay had found out that they would have a girl, he had silently hoped that his wife wouldn't want them to turn the little room into a pink bubble; after all he was still a man and he wasn't too much into the idea of having a Barbie dream room in his apartment.

Luckily his wife hadn't wanted the same either. Instead the room had a light blue wallpaper with fish printed on it, fitting to the dark blue, thick carpet. Closets made of light brown wood were fitting to the small bed with the thick pillow and blanket.

Danny loved to be in this room, especially when he was there to play with their daughter. During the last couple of weeks and months, playing with her hadn't been as easy as he had wanted it to be. Now his situation had changed though. Since he was able to leave his wheelchair, he used the chance to do that as often as he could.

Clearly Danny could remember how desperate he had been back then, when he had realized he couldn't feel his legs anymore and had to spend an undefined time in a wheelchair. The doctors had been optimistic that he would walk again, just like Lindsay. So many times she had encouraged him, so many times she had tried to make him believe her that he would be able to get back to the way he had been before the shooting. He didn't know if that had always been what she had been thinking herself or if she had just forced herself to be optimistic for him.

But whatever she had been thinking, she hadn't given up on encouraging him. Surely she had had a hard time with that, especially when he had been so desperate while fighting with his first incredibly painful but not really successful attempts of starting to walk again. It had been this encouragement though that had kept him going and after all she and the doctors and everyone else who had shown him support had been right. He was making huge progress every day. And if he gave himself the time, he could make his way across the entire apartment without any help.

Things were getting easier. Just like playing with Lucy. With a smile plastered all over his face, Danny was sitting on the thick, dark blue carpet of the baby's room, resting against one of the smaller cupboards with his back, watching how his daughter was playing with a couple of stuffed animals.

"You have some nice friends there, Lucy," he told her, his smile widening when she looked up at him with her huge, blue eyes. With a bright smile of her own, she offered him the stuffed animal, a sheep, which she was currently holding.

"You want Daddy to take care of Mr Sheep?" she asked, taking the offered toy. "He's pretty, isn't he? With all that soft wool."

Giggling, Lucy crawled over to him. Stopping next to him, she snuggled against his side. The sight and the feeling of the small child pressing herself against his arm, wrapping her own much smaller ones around it, immediately caused the all too familiar warmth to rise deep inside his heart.

"I think you have no idea how sweet you are," he said softly. Setting the stuffed sheep aside, he lifted her up into his arms, embracing her tightly. "Just like your Mommy. You girls know how to make me smile, don't you?"

Once again Lucy released a light giggle, wrapping her arms around her father's neck and snuggling into his shoulder.

"Yes, I love you, too, baby girl," he said quietly, holding the baby a little tighter.

"So do I." It was Lindsay's voice that caused Danny to look up. He found his wife standing in the door of the child's room, watching her husband and daughter with a warm smile. Slowly she walked over to them and joined Danny on the floor. Immediately she had caught Lucy's attention, who now tried to embrace both of her parents with her tiny arms. After more or less successfully managing it, she wiggled to free herself from her parents' grips and crawled back to the pile of stuffed toys.

"How are we ever able to send her to school? Or even worse, to kindergarten?" Danny wanted to know, wincing at just the thought of it.

Chuckling, Lindsay rested her head against his shoulder while they continued watching Lucy. "We still have another couple of years until she has to go to kindergarten, and it'll be a great training for us to get used to it before she had to go to school."

Danny nodded. The tone in his wife's voice though had revealed that he wasn't the only one who was too eager about this idea. Glancing down at her, he found her still staring at their child, with a thoughtful expression now.

"You often say things to not only convince me but also to convince yourself, don't you?" he asked softly. Gently resting his arm around her shoulders, he pulled her closer.

Lindsay shrugged. "I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"Because I get the feeling sometimes," he answered. "When you told me I would be able to walk again, were you really that convinced? And are you really that easy about Lucy having to go to kindergarten and school one day?"

When he didn't get an answer immediately, he knew his suspicion had been right. He was aware of his wife's wish to keep their little family together and happy. This included keeping her own fears away from them, even though he had always signalled her that he would listen to them and that he wanted to support her as well. Obviously it needed to be said again though.

"You know you don't always have to be the wise woman who has an answer for every question, right?" he told her after a few moments of silence. "I know you always want us all to be happy, you want to make sure we don't worry, you want us to feel good. You wanted me to believe that I'd be able to walk again. Now you want me to believe that Lucy will be just fine in kindergarten and that we can handle that. But in fact it's not exactly what you're thinking, right? What I'd like to know now is; you always offer me support and I have to say it's that optimism of you that kept me going. But who's giving you this support? Who's making sure you keep going as well?"

"I don't need that, I'm fine," she answered. Briefly she glanced up at him, quickly looking away when she found him still watching her. The one gaze was enough for him to know what was really going on inside her mind.

Releasing a light sigh, he pulled her closer again. "Looks like Lucy is busy again, so I think this is the time where you maybe just share your real thoughts with me? And don't be hesitant. I wasn't hesitant when I was wording my fears and doubts. I want to know what you're really thinking. We're a team, aren't we? So share your thoughts with me."

Clearly Danny could feel Lindsay's hesitation. He could understand her reaction. Too much she was sticking in the role of the strong person who kept the family together and didn't show any weak moments. He couldn't deny he was grateful for this side of her, because it had been what had given him the strength to not give up. This didn't mean he wanted her to keep her thoughts all to herself. And to his relief she seemed to understand.

"Of course I've hoped that the doctors would be right and with the time I got quite optimistic myself," she said then. "But of course I've been frightened that it was just something they always say. Especially when you had to go to therapy and it was like torture for you. I was afraid what would happen if you wouldn't make more progress or if it got better but never good enough so you could walk all by your own again. I tried to push that away though."

"Why? We could have talked about that together," he replied. But Lindsay shook her head.

"No, we couldn't," she answered. "I know you'd have wanted me to be honest and tell you when I was scared myself. But what effect would that have had? I'd have blurted my thoughts out and I know what it would have done to you. You would have been scared even more. I know how many times you've been so insecure. You've been so scared to have to stay in that chair forever. I was the one who wasn't in your situation. I wasn't experiencing it myself. Of course I was scared as well, but as your wife it was clear that I had to support you. I had to make sure the pain and your fear wouldn't prevent you from keeping going. You get what I want to tell you? Of course I could have just told you what I was feeling sometimes, and besides, I was being optimistic. I knew if someone could make it happen, it's you. There were just times where I was unsure and afraid as well, but there was no need to run to you again to pull you down even more. I wanted to offer you support. I wanted to make sure you realize how strong you really are. And obviously it worked that way."

Danny nodded in response. He was silent for a couple of moments. Listening to her, he slowly started to understand. He wanted his wife to be honest in every possible situation, which also included she came to him and told him when she wasn't feeling well. He knew she was doing exactly that and that he could be sure she would come to him if she needed him and wouldn't push him away.

He also had to admit that she was right though. If she had voiced her doubts that possibly he would have to stay in his chair, it would have had the opposite effect of what she had wanted to happen; it would have pulled him down, and for sure he would have stopped his physical therapy long time ago. His wife's words that he would handle his situation had given him the strength back whenever it had been lacking. He could understand there had been times where she had been afraid as well; no one would be optimistic in every situation.

"I have to say I don't know how to thank you for the way you've kept on supporting me like that," he told her then.

Lindsay smiled at him. "I think we both learnt how to do that, right? How to give each other strength. I know when Lucy had been born you've been scared as well, but you didn't show it to me. Instead you told me we'd be alright and you were there, so optimistic and nice. It's just an instinct I think. There are times where you have to put your personal doubts aside and be there for the one you love."

"That's true," Danny agreed. He paused for another moment, glancing at the still playing Lucy, who was busy with a conversation with her stuffed sheep; a conversation possibly only another baby would have understood. "I think when it comes to Lucy and our feelings about her we shouldn't hide our real thoughts in front of each other." Again he gazed down at her. "So what are you really feeling?"

"Honestly?" Lindsay looked up at him again. "I hate the thought of her going to kindergarten. Same I'm feeling with you being back at work again." She blushed lightly at her words. "Please don't get me wrong. But...now that you're getting back to who you've been before, I'm scared you might get yourself into dangerous situations again. At home or at the lab I could be sure you'd take care of yourself. But when you're back in the field, I know you'll chase suspects again. And being you, you might continue giving everything to catch them. I'm scared of that. If I'm completely honest, I wish we could home school Lucy and that you would have to stay at the lab all day. I know that's selfish. But...I just want to make sure you two are fine."

Even though he wasn't a mind reader, Danny had expected this answer from her. He had realized that Lindsay hadn't been excited about the fact that soon he would be able to be in the field again. Other than in the past though, he could understand her now.

"What if I promise that I won't get myself in danger anymore?" he wanted to know. "I can't just stay at the lab and you know that. But I also don't want to overdo it. I know I often did in the past. There are situations that aren't necessary. What if I promise to take care of myself and not do all the stunts and stuff? Would that be okay to you?"

Gazing up at him in surprise, Lindsay raised her eyebrows at him. "Would you really try to do that?" she asked.

Danny chuckled at her reaction. "Yes, I would. Just like you promised to do the same. We have a family. I promise I won't go back to my old overactive self again." He couldn't help but smile at the relieved look she was giving him now. "But with Lucy...I think we still need to send her to kindergarten one day."

Chuckling as well, Lindsay rested her head back against his shoulder. "We still have enough time to get prepared for that," she answered. After pausing for a short moment, she added, "And I think we should voice our thoughts more often; at least in moments where it might be helpful for us."

"I agree with you," he replied, placing a soft kiss into her hair. "I mean, we're a great team, you have to admit that."

Laughing at his answer, Lindsay snuggled against him while Danny tightening his arm around her, pulling her even closer. There were moments where all that mattered for them was cheering the other one up. Both of them also had to learn that sometimes they needed each other's support, which meant they had to voice their thoughts. But they were working on it, because together, they were a great team.

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**Preview: Danny shows Lindsay how grateful he is for all the support.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thank you so much again for all those lovely reviews! Also huge thanks to everyone who's reading this fic and who added it! Huge thanks to my sweet beta Andie24! Special thanks to afrozenheart412, uscrocks, nciscsinyluver, Lola-Ladybug13, SMacked Hard, saderia, just-off-the-key-off-reason, iheartcsinewyork and jennifer32485!**

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**Rain. Danny has never been a fan of rain. It was wet, usually it was cold, and it always happened in the worst moments when it was wished the least. To sum it up, he disliked it when it rained. At least this was the way he had felt for years, since childhood.

But things had changed. His opinion had changed. Looking back at the man he had been in the past, Danny was amazed to see how much he had changed over all those years. Barely one could compare the young Danny to the married father he was now. There had been no chance for him to stay the hot headed, sometimes reckless, always risky person he had been only years ago. If so, he would have lost his job, and possibly much more than that.

He hadn't needed a kick to change though. No one had told him to. No one had pushed him. It hadn't even been a decision by him. It had just happened. He had matured a lot. Danny wouldn't say he was a completely different man now, with a new character. His character was still the same. But his behaviour had changed, and so did some of his opinions. He had started to understand that if someone meant something to him, it wasn't wise to push said person away, instead he had learnt to let persons like that in, allowing them to be a part of his life, a part of his thoughts. And he had started to love rain.

Sitting at the large living room window, Danny was staring outside, watching how hundreds of thick raindrops hit against the glass, leaving long trails on their way across of it. The steady, drumming sound had a calming effect on him. Also there was something surreal, beautiful about rain. But the most Danny loved how much rain reminded him of his wife.

Far more than a year ago, he had called Lindsay in a rainy night, while she had been out for one of her rain walks. Rain walks. If one had once told him he would try a rain walk himself, he would have called them nuts. He had tried it though, and had to admit that the feeling of the cold raindrops on his skin, the almost magical loneliness and the fresh air indeed had an effect that was enjoyable.

Back then, when he had called her, when she had been out in the rain, he had asked her for forgiveness, in his own wordless way. It had been the beginning of them approaching each other again; a day he would always keep in his thoughts.

And rain had been what she had used to make him understand how strongly she was standing by his side, fighting for him while he had been so close to giving up during the biggest challenge he had to face; a chance of ten percent he had had to fully recover. Ten percent only. Not more. Not even fifty percent. Ten. When he had heard said number, he had felt like he started to freeze from inside out.

Ten percent. In his eyes, the doctors could have said no chance as well; it wouldn't have made a huge difference for him. So he had lied to her, had told Lindsay that chances he would walk again were much higher. Until she had found it out, like he should have expected.

And like so many times before, she had shown it to him again. She had shown him how much she understood to make him understand. With gentle yet determined words she had confronted him with giving up. And that she wasn't going to do the same, even if it meant to believe in him for the both of them. There it had been, that love she felt for him and which she had shown him so clearly with every single word. She would believe in him. Ten percent; what was nothing to him was a chance for her. Like the ten percent of rain that would cause her to take her umbrella. Because ten percent were enough for her to believe.

She had been right. A chance of ten percent that it would rain was a possibility. A chance of ten percent that he would be walking again was the same. And there he was now, sitting at his favourite place at the living room window. A long and painful path was lying behind him, not left behind yet, but to the most parts passed. He wasn't sitting in his wheelchair like all those times before. Still needing a cane, he could walk around the apartment again if he wanted to. And could sit on normal chair again if he wanted to.

Ten percent and a little story about rain. Only one attempt of his wife to make him believe in himself, and in them, in their strength as a couple, in the strength of their love. It had worked. Ten percent had been enough.

Deeply in his thoughts, Danny didn't hear how Lindsay entered the room again. It was the soft crying of Lucy that quickly caught his attention when it grew louder and louder while she was approaching him. Snapping out of his thoughts, he turned around, immediately with a smile on his face when he saw his wife and their baby.

"I don't know what problem she has today. She's been fuzzy all the time. She's not in the mood for some rest obviously," Lindsay said, smiling back at him. He couldn't prevent his heart from making a tiny jump at the sight in front of him. There was just something about her and Lucy that never failed to fill him with a warmth he only seemed to feel around those two loves of his life.

Danny watched how Lindsay softly cooed to the still sobbing baby, who wasn't anywhere close to falling asleep like she was supposed to at that late hour. He resisted the urge to jump up, which still wouldn't be that easy, and grab both of them, holding them tight to show them that strong love he only felt for them. Another thing that had changed. Never had he seen himself as a father and husband. Now he was both and he couldn't imagine it any different.

"So what do you want, sweetie?" Lindsay said softly, gently rocking the fuzzy baby in her arms. "Do you rather want to go to Daddy?" Looking up at Danny, she gave him a wink. "I think Lucy wants her Daddy to put her to sleep tonight."

"I think you'll do just fine," he replied, knowing exactly what she wanted. But still he was hesitant when it came to interacting with Lucy. Things had been easier for him when he had gotten used to his wheelchair and knew how to pick her up and get her around the room best. Now that he was back to walking again and barely ever even got close to his wheelchair, he was more careful again. Still he didn't trust in his legs completely. He couldn't know for sure for how long they could carry him. He was scared of dropping her, or getting in any other problems with her. But Lindsay seemed to have a different opinion than him.

Gently she rested the baby in his arms, giving him a supportive smile. "Get her to bed, Daddy," she told him softly with yet another wink.

Looking up at her, Danny watched how she walked over to the near living room couch and let herself fall down onto it. Releasing a deep sigh of satisfaction, she closed her eyes, visibly relaxing now that she was able to sit.

Glancing down at Lucy, Danny found the baby still with a very disappointed facial expression, whimpering lightly.

"Hey baby girl," he coos softly. "What's the matter, huh? You have such a sweet Mommy who's trying her best to get you sleep and you keep on sobbing here? What's wrong?" Gently he was rocking her in his arms, holding her as close against him as possible. His smile widened at how the baby immediately snuggled against the fabric of his shirt, one hand gripping it tightly.

Throwing a quick glance at Lindsay, he noticed his wife was watching him again. Glancing back at Lucy, he started to stroke over the soft baby hair that was covering her head.

"Your Mommy is wonderful, you know that, baby girl?" he continued talking then. "And wise she's as well. You know what she did? She didn't give me up, even when I was starting to do it myself. She's been there, right at my side. I'm sure things have been complicated for her, and difficult. She's been working so hard, taking care of you and me and earning the money. And during doing all that, she's been there to kick my a... butt when I needed it. Or she allowed me to cry when I had to. And she didn't let me escape and run away and push anyone away. She's just been there, and I wonder if I ever thanked her for that."

At those words, Danny was looking up at Lindsay again. He could see his wife's eyes locking with his and he noticed the slightest hint of tears glistering in hers. He knew he had told her how glad he was for the fact he had such a strong woman at his side that always seemed to know when to react how. He didn't know if he had ever really thanked her though.

Briefly looking down at Lucy, his smile widened at the sight of the now sleeping baby. Looking back at Lindsay, Danny continued, "I think she's been bored by what I had to say. Could you maybe put her to bed? I don't want to wake her up."

"Alright, this time I will," she replied. Getting up, she took Lucy out of his arms again gently before she headed into the nursery. A couple of moments later, she returned and sat down back on the couch. Carefully, he got up from his chair and moved over to the couch to join her as well. For a while they stayed quiet. Danny noticed how Lindsay's hand sneaked over to where his were resting in his lap, resting it on top of them before she looked back up at him.

"Thank you," he said.

Lindsay chuckled lightly. "You thanked me already, so many times. You don't need to do it again."

"But I want to," he replied. "I wouldn't have been able to do all that without you at my side. You remember back then when you told me I was giving up? You were right, because I was. I didn't feel anything, I believed that ten percent weren't enough. It was you who reassured you, with just showing me you did believe in me, no matter how stubborn I was. And no matter if chances were ten percent or sixty. It was the little kick I needed. And all those moments after that. How you were there when I got all frustrated because of the tiniest things. How you told me to fight when I wanted to give up on physical therapy. You didn't let me. I just want to thank you for that."

Lindsay's smile widened at his words and she nodded. "Like I said, you thanked me already. Not just with saying it, or with showing your gratitude. You thanked me with listening to me and with keeping on fighting. I know how much you struggled with all that has happened and with getting back to how you were. I know how many times you had doubts. But you listened to me, and you even came to me. You didn't push me away. That says thank you more than any words could."

Danny couldn't help but grin lightly at her little speech. "You're good with all the wise words, aren't you?"

Lindsay chuckled again, shrugging lightly. "I'm just saying what my instinct tells me to say. I heard that a certain someone liked to do that as well and that it worked pretty good."

Danny nodded at her words. Both of them had learnt that their instinct was what they had to listen to. Their instincts had brought them to where they were now. Things could be difficult sometimes, but their instincts wouldn't betray them.

Sighing lightly, he rested his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. Satisfied Danny noticed how Lindsay wrapped her arms around him, releasing an own sigh; a sigh of relief. The last couple of months had been hard for them, had been the biggest challenge they had to face so far. But it had made them stronger. It almost seemed like once again they were able to have a fresh start, now that things were getting so much easier. Fresh like the rain. The rain that had such a deep meaning for them. And both of them knew that at their side they had a strong partner who was there, whenever they needed each other.

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**Preview: Danny and Lindsay discuss some wishes they have.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Huge thanks to everyone for reviewing this fic! Also huge thanks for reading and for adding it! Thanks to Andie24 for all the support! Special thanks to afrozenheart412, saderia, Lola-Ladybug13, just-off-the-key-off-reason, SMacked Hard and iheartcsinewyork!**

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**If someone had asked Danny if he wanted to have children one day or get married, he would have only shaken his head at those people. Being an independent man, he couldn't see himself having his own little family. Until he had met Lindsay.

All of the sudden, Danny had his little family with Lindsay. He was married to her, they had a child, they were living together. It was perfect that way and now he couldn't imagine it any different. This little family was giving him the happiness and peace he had been secretly longing for, a reason why he got up every morning, went to work every day. A reason why he had continued physical therapy, no matter how painful it had been.

If someone asked Danny now if he saw himself as a family person, he would agree with that. He loved this family. He loved being married to Lindsay. He loved having a child with her. But still there was something he was willing to change. Because in his eyes, a real family was supposed to be living in a house and their daughter was supposed to have at least one more sibling.

So far he hadn't told her about those wishes. During the last weeks and months, there had been a lot happening. They had do deal with being married, having a child, stressful job and with him being in his wheelchair. Now things were finally less stressful and he wanted to allow her some time to relax before he would confront her with his wish to extend their family. He didn't know that Lindsay was well aware of that he wanted to tell her something already. And somehow even knew that this had to do with more children, like she had read his mind.

It was one of those days that Danny enjoyed the most. Neither of them had to work, it was weekend and all they had to do was taking care of Lucy. Apart from that he and Lindsay could spend the day they wanted it to spend. Which meant sleeping in, cuddling and playing with their daughter and loads of romantic moments when the young child was asleep.

When he woke up, he found only himself in their large bed. Noises coming from the room across of theirs though revealed him where his wife was. Immediately a smile lit his face at what he could hear. He possibly wouldn't admit it, but for him it counted to the most wonderful moments when his wife was singing to their daughter as she tried to calm her down. The only thing that topped that was when he got to see said moments.

And now not even his wheelchair was a hindrance anymore. Carefully, he moved to the edge of the bed. Setting his feet onto the soft carpet that was covering the floor of their bedroom, a light smile spread over his face. After weeks and months of feeling nothing in his legs, he still couldn't get enough of how wonderful it was to actually feel something like a carpet again. He had caught himself walking more than ever before; instead of taking the car, bike or subway for most of his trips into the city, he rather walked now. He had had the chance to sit enough for a while. Now he wanted to enjoy what had been so hard to get back and what had seemed to be so normal before but what in fact he now saw as a gift.

Slowly he got up from his sitting position and made his way out of the bedroom and over to the child's room. Grateful he found no pain rushing through him as he did so. Things were getting easier and easier with every day. Had he been frightened he wouldn't be able to walk on his own again, now he could do exactly that, even without the slightest bit of pain. It was an experience he had never expected himself to enjoy that much.

Just as the sight of his wife holding their daughter. Reaching Lucy's room, he stopped in the doorway for a moment, with a smile simply enjoying what he could see. Standing near the little bed, Lindsay was holding Lucy in her arms, rocking the baby gently while the little one squeezed herself as tightly against her mother as she could. Like all those times before, it didn't fail to warm his heart.

Still Danny was in awe because of the fact he had his own little family. He had a wife. They had a child. They were living together in a lovingly decorated apartment which Lindsay had made sure to be the most beautiful and cozy place he could imagine. Once again he couldn't help the thought how wonderful it would be if there were a couple of more of their children running around, playing together, while they were watching them.

Shaking his head to clear his mind as his thoughts started to drift away, he couldn't help but smirk at himself. He couldn't believe that he, the man who once had told Mac talking about him falling in love wasn't even funny enough for joking, now was imagining himself and his wife having a big family and a house. Like all those little perfect families. But there was no way for him to ignore those wishes and feelings. Because it was what he wanted. What he really wanted. More than anything else.

"There has to be something really nice you're thinking about," Lindsay interrupted him in his thoughts. Glancing up at her, Danny found her watching him now, smiling warmly. The rocking and singing obviously had worked, because Lucy had fallen asleep again, still tightly cuddling against her mother.

"Oh, just thinking about how cute you are," he told her with a light smirk.

Lindsay chuckled. "Just like you." Turning back to Lucy, she placed a gentle kiss onto the small, rosy cheeks of the baby before she carefully lay her back down. Then she headed over to where her husband was still standing, wrapping her arms around his waist to snuggle against him now. Instinctively he closed his arms around her petite body as well while they watched their sleeping baby for yet another few moments.

"I missed that," he whispered, placing a gentle kiss into her hair.

"You missed what?" she wanted to know.

"Holding you," he told her. "Like this. I missed doing that. We did it a lot before...all that happened."

She nodded. "Yeah, I know. That surely has been frustrating. But now see, you made it happen again. Only with showing us all how strong you are."

Danny couldn't help the light chuckle that escaped him. "Do you ever get tired of praising me and telling me how great I am?" he teased her.

She chuckled as well. "No. Especially not when it helps you to believe in yourself and work on your dreams." Lindsay moved in his arms a bit until she could look up at him. "I want to make sure that you know how much you can do with believing in yourself. Because you're stronger than you think."

"So are you," he whispered back, placing a soft kiss onto her warm lips. "And you're also much cuter than you think."

Once again she chuckled, more giggling this time. "Too cute to threaten you, huh?" she repeated his earlier words, set in a time that had been so much more complicated for them. "So what now? Don't you think we should use the chance that she's asleep and head back into the bedroom?"

Instinctively, he smirked at her question. "Absolutely," he told her, already grabbing her hand to pull her with him. But barely he had managed to wrestle her down onto their bed, kissing her deeply, when it happened again. The thoughts returned. The thoughts of how wonderful it would be if they were now lying in the bedroom of their own house while their children were either still sleeping or running around the house, playing in the garden. And despite his longing for her, he couldn't help but stop.

"What's wrong?" she asked, gazing up at him in confusion. As she saw his own confused expression, her look got concerned. "Are you in pain?"

He shook his head. "No, no pain."

Her cheeks flushed lightly. "Then...if you're not in the mood..."

"What?" Danny looked at her in surprise as he realised what his reaction was making her think. "No, that's not it at all. As if I wouldn't be in the mood."

"What's it then?" Carefully she wiggled out from under him to sit up straight. She rested her back against the headboard, watching him closely. Danny glanced back at her for a moment. Sighing then, he crawled over to her and sat down next to her. They were quiet for a moment while he tried to decide how to tell her what he had to tell her.

"Tell me what it is, please," she said then, her voice clearly revealing the strongly increasing insecurity she felt.

"It's nothing bad, okay?" he replied quickly. When she nodded, he continued, "I've been thinking about something for a while. I know it might sound crazy, especially now after all the stress we had and now that it finally all seems to calm down. But I can't help those thoughts."

"What are you thinking about?" Lindsay wanted to know. Still he could hear slight concern, but she seemed more interested now than frightened.

"I've been thinking about how wonderful it would be to extend our little family," Danny told her then. Immediately he blushed lightly at his own words. "I know you might think I'm crazy for even thinking about it and I know you said you want Lucy to stay an only child. But...I can't stop thinking about how it'd be like to have a house somewhere outside the city, with a couple of kids running around in it. I don't know, I imagine how we get up at the weekend and have breakfast with them at a giant dining table and then we go into the park or into the garden and play with them all. That sounds cheesy, I know, but...the thought of that alone is just too wonderful."

He looked back at Lindsay who had been closely listening to him. He didn't find her surprised like he had expected though. Instead he could see a soft smile lighting her face.

"You think that's a crazy thought?" she asked him.

His face reddened a bit more. "Well, you said you don't want more kids. Also I'm kinda surprised by myself because of all that."

To his even bigger surprise, Lindsay laughed at his words. "Why, because the once known playboy now is a loving husband and father and wants a big family?" She winked at him. "I personally like this side of you a lot better." She paused for a moment. "And about your wish...back then when I said I want her to stay an only child, I did that because I've just had given birth for the first time. I think you're well aware of how long I've been in labour and what's been going on in the delivery room."

At the thought, Danny winced lightly. As much as he had enjoyed the moment their baby had finally been born, the birth itself had been painful to watch, mainly because of what she had to go through. Still he was amazed by her and would completely understand if she wanted to not do that again.

"See, that's why I said I want her to stay an only child," she continued then. "This has changed though. I think it would be wonderful to have more children with you. The more the better. I know, the birth is possibly not something I'm eager to do again, but being pregnant...I think I'd really enjoy that." With a wink, she added, "Especially when my husband is so sweet and caring again."

But he didn't reply to the soft teasing. Instead Danny was staring at Lindsay, trying to understand what she had just told him. He had been sure she'd at least tell him to wait until they would decide to have a second child, or even more. Much more than that he had expected her to say no to his idea. But that she'd agree with him? That really surprised him.

"So let me get that straight; you agree that you want to have more kids with me and want to move into a little house with us?" he wanted to know, just to be sure.

Lindsay laughed again. "Am I about to sign a contract here or something?" she teased him. More serious, she continued, "Of course that's what I want as well. I mean...look at us. Look at our little family. Look what a hard time we just had and how brilliantly we managed to handle it. We're an amazing team, we can completely rely on each other. I know I want to have one of those amazingly big, perfect families they always show us in the commercials. With a house and a dog and a van. I know things won't be perfect all the time. We just experienced such a rough time. But you know us. We can do it. And after all we'd be just as happy as those families. I've thought about that myself, especially when that nesting instinct was getting its best of me. I wasn't sure on your opinion, but now that I know it, I want it even more."

Danny nodded slowly. It took him a bit to actually process what he had just gotten to hear. Slowly he started to realise it. She agreed with his wishes, wanted everything just as much as him. It took him a few minutes until a huge smile spread across his place.

"Then maybe we should start working on that," he told her, gently pulling her away from the headboard to pin her into the mattress. For a short moment he hesitated once again though. "But you're really sure, aren't you?"

Lindsay laughed in response. "Kiss me already. We have a lot to practice," she replied with a wink.

Grinning at Lindsay, Danny bent down to kiss her. Once again thoughts of their big family in their own house appeared in his mind. But this time he knew she wanted the same. They'd have their big family. And like she had said; they were strong together, no matter how difficult or easy situations could be. They were a perfect team, and the bigger it was, the better.

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**Preview: Danny and Lindsay work on the first part of their plan.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Huge thanks to everyone of you who's reviewing this fic! Also huge thanks for reading! It means a lot to me that you like this story! Thanks to Andie24 for the help! Special thanks to uscrocks, Lola-Ladybug13, afrozenheart412, just-off-the-key-off-reason, SMacked Hard and iheartcsinewyork!**

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**The definition of what home was to a person could be different just as different as people were from each other. For some people home was the apartment they went to every day after work, their own four walls where they were their own bosses, where they set their own rules. For others home was a place outside their apartments or houses, possibly many miles away; a place where they felt they belonged to. And for some it simply meant being at the side of the persons they loved, no matter where they were.

For Danny it had been important to have his own place after he had moved out at home. Of course sharing his place with a roommate would have been less expensive, but rather he lived in a smaller place than together with someone. He had wanted to make sure he could really set his own rules, could come home after work without having to follow a long list of what to do. He had to listen to instructions at work; at least in his own four walls he wanted to be himself, with everything that counted to that.

And he had been determined that no girlfriend would ever change that. He wouldn't want her toothbrush next to his, he also wouldn't want half of her clothes everywhere, taking away space that was his. His apartment was the place he could go to when things went too difficult, too exhausting and too stressful for him. He needed it for himself. All for himself.

But then Danny had met Lindsay. And had gotten together with the young woman from Montana. Not only had he fallen in love for the first time, also he had started to suddenly not care for his own rules anymore. All of the sudden she was everywhere; there wasn't just her toothbrush next to his, also he found her brush, the spare amount of make-up she owned, towels, underwear and a lot of more things in his bathroom.

That was his bathroom, but in fact she was found everywhere. Lindsay liked to decorate. So it was no surprise he found little additions to his own here and there. Just as her clothes between his in the bedroom closet. And to his own surprise, he didn't mind.

He didn't mind at all. Instead he hated the short time where all her stuff had been back to her own place during their break up. So glad he had been when slowly all of those little things had returned as she had given them a second chance. Never he had seen himself as someone who was grateful to have those women's articles, how he called them, spread all over his apartment. All over his own little private place.

And then she had gotten pregnant by him. Not only was she an often visitor at his place then. If it was up to him, he would have liked her to move in with him right there and then. Not only because of the baby, like she had thought at first. Even though they both agreed that a baby couldn't solve a relationship's problems, their little one had had a healing affect on the both of them. Their daughter had made them open up to each other, had made them talk and confess all those feelings and thoughts that for some reason they had kept on hiding in front of each other.

Their relationship had changed a lot over the time. So he hadn't felt a tiniest bit of hesitation as she had really moved in with him. This was the place where he wanted her to be. At his place. At his side.

And so Danny had changed, from being the one who liked to have his own place as his home to the one who found home at the side of his loved ones; his family.

Once again realising that, a broad smile lit his face as he led his car into the small street that led up to the house Danny and Lindsay had bought not long ago. They had moved in completely now. Still he was amazed by the fact he was actually living in a house again. It almost felt like back in childhood, just with the difference that now he was the adult, not the child.

It was late already and the street lights, combined with the bright windows of the houses that were edging the street were brightening up the late winter evening. It was January and it had just snowed the night before and during the day so the streets but mainly the houses and front yards were covered with a thick layer of white, soft snow.

Danny's smile widened as their house came into view.

"Our house," he spoke out, grinning lightly. He was glad no one could hear him talking to himself. But too much he enjoyed to actually hear it being said; their family, their house. It felt so good to imagine it like that. Unfortunately they hadn't been able to spend Christmas in their house yet. But still the first snow in the backyard would be a lot of fun, especially for Lucy.

Parking his car in front of their house, Danny stepped out of it, stopping for a moment before he wanted to head in though. Like every time he arrived at home, he couldn't help but take the sight in for a moment. The house surely wasn't the biggest, but definitely big enough for them and a few more children. Soft light was finding its way outside from the window of the kitchen, making the soft, yet untouched snow on the meadow in front of it glister. A soft wind came up, gently stroking through the crown of the tall, old maple tree. Just as he wanted to make his way over to the entrance door, he noticed the soft snowflakes that were dancing in the dark sky again.

Still with a smile on his face, Danny headed over to the entrance door to let himself into the safe warmth of their house. Stripping off his thick jacket and kicking off his boots, he already headed to the kitchen, expecting his wife to be in there as the lights were still burning. He stopped though as the all too familiar voice of her caught his attention, clearly coming from the living room.

Carefully and slowly he stepped closer until he had a free view into the large room. Instantly his smile soften at the scene in front of him. Lindsay was sitting at the living room window that covered almost the entire wall that gave them a nice view into the backyard. Lucy was sitting in her lap, full attention resting on what her mother was showing to her.

"Do you see that, Lucy?" Lindsay told her softly, pointing out of the window with her index finger. Lucy, following her mother's finger, stared out of the window into the dark with huge eyes and Danny wasn't sure if the baby even knew what she was supposed to look at. Lindsay seemed to notice that as well as she chuckled softly. "Do you see all the snow? Isn't that beautiful? But I think I could show you an old car wreck and you'd find it interesting."

Gently she lifted the baby up in a standing position, turning her around to her. So far Lucy couldn't walk on her own, but with the support of either them, the railing of her crip or the walls, she managed to make a few steps before she would fall onto her butt again. But easily she didn't give up; with endless determination she would get up again and would continue her way. It was a determination that had been one of the many reasons Danny had continued his own hard and painful way to get back to walking. If his child could show such a strength, so could he.

Instinctively looking down at his legs, Danny's smile once again widened. Still there were times in which he was scared to wake up and finding himself without any feelings in his legs again. So far he was back to walking almost normally again though and it was an experience he was enjoying like a treasure. Things that were so normal to everyone but in fact weren't. So easily everything could change.

He, the man who always had wanted to control everything, who had defined himself with his physical strength, painfully had to learn that there was more about him than that. This lesson he had learnt well though and slowly he had started to understand that he had more to offer than he had imagined. He had started to enjoy the little things life had to offer.

Like watching his wife as she was spending some time with his daughter. Having the baby girl standing in her lap now, she smiled at her, placing a soft kiss onto Lucy's soft cheeks.

"It's so much nicer here than at our old place, right?" Lindsay said, allowing Lucy to snuggle against her. "Daddy made a good decision when he told me he wanted to have a house with us. It's bigger, it has much more places for you to play at. And we'll even have enough space for your siblings."

She looked down at Lucy. The little girl had wiggled herself into a sitting position again. With her head resting against her mother's chest, she looked up at Lindsay with her big blue eyes, listening to what she had to say even though she didn't understand. Lindsay's warm smile widened as she kissed the baby into her soft hair.

"We'll be a big family," she said, rubbing the back of the young child as she noticed the first signs of Lucy slowly getting tired. "Your Daddy, you and me and loads of baby brothers and sisters." She chuckled as Lucy yawned. "Not exciting? I'm sure your Daddy sees that a bit different. I think he'd be more than happy to have a whole soccer team running around the house. Not that I'd mind. I just wish he could give birth to at least half of them."

Still hidden at the door, Danny bit his bottom lip to not release a noise at her comment. He didn't even dare to imagine having to go through a birth other than holding his wife's hand and encouraging her. He would have fully understood if this had been her reason for not wanting to have more than one child. But to his surprise despite the fact she'd have to do it again she had agreed to his wish to extend their little family. He had to admit a soccer team didn't sound bad to him either.

"But you know what, Luce?" Lindsay said then. Gently she stroked over the baby's rosy cheeks with her index finger, earning another yawn. "I think it's not that bad at all. Watching you and your Daddy together is enough to not care for all the exhaustion when you run around with a belly huge like you ate a whole turkey by yourself or the frustration as you wait for the baby to be born or all the sleepless nights. A smile from you makes it all so much better. And we both know what a great Daddy he is, right?"

Listening to the loving words of his wife, Danny could feel the familiar lump in his throat again, this time caused by nothing else but happiness though. He didn't want to stay hidden anymore any longer. Coughing lightly to announce his presence, he entered the room as well, causing Lindsay to look up at him.

"There they are my two favourite girls," he greeted them, walking over to the place she still sat at before she could get up to join them on the floor. "You're watching the snow?" His smile widened as the formerly sleepy Lucy seemed to be fully awake again, instantly reaching out for her father to pick her up which he willingly did.

Lindsay raised her eyebrows softly at his words. "You stood there for a while, didn't you?" she asked.

Danny chuckled, arranging Lucy in his arms. "You know me too good." He paused for a moment as he gazed back at his wife, noticing how her cheeks flushed lightly at the realisation she had had a listener. "Just so you know, if there was a way to give birth to half of them, I'd do it."

"I know you would," she answered, offering a light smile. "I think I'll be fine though."

"You know we don't have to have a whole soccer team," he told her with a wink, his face staying serious though. "This house is already well filled with you, me and Lucy and Flack and the others."

Lindsay grinned at his words. Since they had bought their house, Flack and pretty much every other team member walked in and out of their house as if they lived there themselves. Occasionally it happened they came home just to find one or more of their friends in the living room, dinner in the oven. It was like they all were one huge family and they wouldn't want it any different.

"I think if you listened to my little conversation with Lucy you should know how I'm feeling about more children," she answered. "Things like pregnancy and birth aside, I think I couldn't imagine anything more beautiful than having more children with you. I know you've never seen yourself as the kind of man who'd have a wife and a whole bus of kids. You surprised us both with proving us wrong. I see how much you enjoy being father, just as much as I enjoy being mother. It's not about being independent anymore, about having fun and doing what we want all day. We have a well organised all day life and I'd not change that for anything. I know we could handle at least one more child. I know no matter how hard things might be here and there, after all sitting down here, listening to the kids running around, playing with each other, will be worth every exhaustion."

"You sure about that?" Danny wanted to know.

Lindsay smiled at him. "When I told you about Lucy, were you sure you want that? Me and her?"

"Of course," he answered, almost before she had even managed to finish the question.

Lindsay's smile widened. "Then take that as the answer to your question."

With that Lindsay rested her head against his shoulder, almost mirroring the actions of their daughter who chose the moment to snuggled against Danny as well. Instinctively he tightened his grip around them, holding them closer. He understood what she wanted him to know. Things wouldn't be easy and many times they would possibly be close to break down or freak out when things seemed to overwhelm them. But after all this was what they wanted; their family. This family was their home, the place where they wanted to be. An apartment, a house; it didn't matter as long as they were at each other's side.

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**Preview: Danny and Lindsay talk, this time about her thoughts and feelings.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Thank you so much to all of you for those sweet reviews! Also big thanks for reading this story! Special thanks to Lola-Ladybug13, SMacked Hard, afrozenheart412, uscrocks, just-off-the-key-off-reason and iheartcsinewyork!**

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**When she had been a young girl, there had been no doubt for Lindsay that she wanted to be a farmer; like everyone else in her family. For generations now, her family was leading this farm she had grown up at. For her it had never been a question if she wanted to do the same.

Growing up on a farm; she couldn't imagine anything more wonderful for a child. She had everything there; a nice, cozy room from where she had an impressive view across the endlessly long fields, the dark, mysterious forest and the giant mountains. She had her own horse. Always she helped her mother in the house or with taking care of all the various things they had to harvest. Or she helped her father on the fields and with the animals. Wherever she wanted, she could just go to; stroll along the fields, hike in the mountains or wander through the forest.

It was a wonderful and peaceful place and as she had been young, Lindsay couldn't imagine there could be any more beautiful place in this world. Or any better job than being a farmer.

But then she had to learn a hard lesson; that even her little, perfect town wasn't that perfect at all. Hard she had to learn this as her friends were shot by a stranger, for no reason. This shock she had never completely gotten over. Still it was part of her and she was sure it would always be. Clearly she could remember all the sounds, the overwhelming paralysing fear, how she had felt so cold, had been shivering, how her heart had been pounding hard in her chest as she had been sitting in this small bathroom. And how she had seen the worst sight she could imagine; her murdered friends.

This day had changed a lot for her, with consequences that should been shown over the time. The quirky, happy girl suddenly had become quiet and cautious, not willing to chat with people like she had before but instead rather was all by her own. Her parents, just as overwhelmed by what had happened as her, just in another way, had sent her to various therapists. Therapists who she had forced to believe that she was fine and didn't need them; an attitude she slowly had to start to believe herself.

But as much as she had tried to convince herself and everyone else that she was fine, the changes she had to go through still had affected her in many ways. No longer, her wonderful home was safe and peaceful for her. No longer she thought being a farmer was what she was supposed to be.

So she had decided to become a CSI. For many reasons. She wanted to make sure that people who had to go through a nightmare like her would get answers she herself had never gotten; why this had to happen to them. She wanted to make sure that those monsters got punished for their crimes.

And she wanted to be strong. She wanted to make sure she could defend herself and the people she loved, with the skills she would learn in this job. She didn't want to wait for anyone to protect her and her loved ones; back then when she had needed it, there had also been no one to protect either of them.

Lindsay had the strong wish to protect herself, but even more others. She wanted to make sure something like the shooting in the diner would never happen again. She wanted to make sure she would take care of the people she loved, no matter for which costs.

But then she had met someone who had just the same wish as her. Danny also felt the strong urge to protect his loved ones, including her. Which had led to a situation she once again didn't have any control over.

Sitting in bed, Lindsay was resting against the headboard with her back, a book lying in her lap. Barely she could concentrate on what she was reading though. Too far away she was with her thoughts. And too tired she was as well.

Lately sleeping wasn't easy for her. Actually she had expected that now that most of their problems were solved and even Lucy slept through the night, she would be able to catch on the sleep she had been missing all the months before.

But instead she woke up even more often. Not because anyone was waking her up. Because of nightmares. Nightmares she had never expected to bother her at this time. But she couldn't do much against them. She couldn't do anything against all the images that found their way into her mind. All those feelings she was struggling with.

"Lucy is asleep," Danny told her as he entered the bedroom as well, causing her to jerk out of her thoughts. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"No, it's fine," she answered, giving him a light smile.

"Must be a good book then," he told her, smiling back.

Lindsay nodded in response. She watched as he walked over to their large closet to change into something more comfortable for sleeping. If one looked closely, it was to see that he was still being careful, still getting used to the fact he could walk even without a cane or any other support, but every single of his movements had a lot more confidence than before.

"It's amazing to see how she's growing, isn't it?" he said as he pulled his shirt over his head, leaving his upper body uncovered to her view. "And that she's sleeping all night without crying for us every few hours. I would have never expected that sleeping longer than like two or three hours would feel that amazing."

But Lindsay didn't listen to what he was saying. Her eyes had found the sight she had tried to avoid ever since that night in the bar; the scar on his back. Even all those months after the shooting, it was something she couldn't bear to see, bringing back all those images, all those feelings. Images and feelings she had to deal with every night anyways. In her nightmares. Once again she could feel the strong lump in her throat. Once again she fought hard with the emotions that were rising inside her.

"Everything okay with you?" Once again it was Danny's voice that caused her to snap out of her thoughts. Looking up, Lindsay found her husband looking at her now. Clearly with concern in his eyes. He had caught her expression and she knew she could try her best, he wouldn't let her get away with telling him she was fine. In this case he was like her; he wouldn't stop until he got the true answers; just like she wouldn't do it any different herself.

She wouldn't lie. She couldn't say the truth either though. So she stayed quiet, simply looking back at him in silence. He watched her closely for a few moments before he walked over to the bed himself and joined her. Sitting down next to her, he watched her quietly for another few minutes. She knew he was waiting for her to start by herself. It wasn't the silence but the comfort she saw in his eyes that caused the first tears to fall.

"Come here, baby," Danny told her softly as he closed his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close against his chest. "Don't you want to tell me what's wrong? Like for example why you still didn't tell me about the fact that you're having nightmares every night."

Listening to what he was saying, Lindsay wasn't even surprised by the fact he knew about her dreams. Or that he hadn't said a word about that yet. He wanted to give her the chance to come to him by herself.

"Things are just going so well again, I didn't want to bother you with that," she told him, trying to wipe her tears away. She felt how he pulled her backwards a bit. She tried to avoid looking at him, but gently he lifted her chin, making her lock eyes with him.

"Didn't we talk about that so many times?" he asked her. "I thought we wanted to come to each other when we're not feeling well. That counts for both of us. I don't want you to deal with nightmares without anyone at your side. We're married, aren't we? We're a team. That means we're there when the other one needs us. I don't want you to sit here and break out into tears without me having any ideas what's going on."

"But I don't even get it myself," she replied, shaking her head at herself. "I mean...I didn't have any nightmares after the shooting for months, why now?"

She saw how Danny's eyes widened lightly at her words. "It's about that?"

Lindsay nodded. "Yeah. I can't get it out of my head. I don't get why it's happening now. I'm just...it's hard, you know."

Danny nodded in response. Once again he was quiet for a few moments. "Maybe you just pushed it aside too much," he said then. "Since this night, you've been functioning like a machine. You didn't have any time to actually think about it. It's still there I think. It's nothing one forgets easily and maybe your mind thinks now is the time to deal with it." He paused for a moment. "You know how many times you let me talk about it? I think it's about time you stop telling yourself and me and everyone else that you're perfectly fine and instead just tell me what's really going on inside your mind."

Lindsay looked back at Danny without saying a word. She was aware of the fact that if someone would listen to her, it was him. Still this was one of the most difficult things to do she could imagine. Opening up was something she hadn't even done back then after her friends had been murdered. She knew this suppressing of memories had been one reason why they had hit her so hard as the topic had come back up again. She knew she had to talk and he had offered that he would listen.

"It's just I can't stop thinking about how I felt when this happened," she explained then. "How scared I was. And then at the hospital I felt like I would break down every minute, I was so scared the injury would be so dangerous for you that...it would cause more than what it did. And as we heard that you would have to sit in a wheelchair for a while, I was shocked. Not because I thought I wouldn't handle it. I just knew what this would do to you. I was scared you would do it all on your own again. But...the shooting itself...I can't forget about how we were lying on the ground and then...I can't stop thinking about it. And...the worst is all that happened because of me again."

"What?" Danny looked at her in confusion. "How do you mean it happened because of you?"

"It happened because you wanted to protect me," she said, new tears rolling down her cheeks. "You covered me to protect me. That's why you got hurt. I should have protected you. It's why I'm doing all that. I wanted to take care of you and I should have done it. But...instead it was you who got hurt. Just like when you switched our shifts. You got beaten up, not me. It's...just not fair. You get hurt because of me and I can't even do anything against it. Although I swore that would never happen again."

Once again she had to stop as her voice was no longer under her control. Danny looked back at Lindsay, trying to follow her thoughts. It took him a bit to understand all the information she had tried to give him with that outburst. Then without saying a word, he pulled her back against his chest, holding her in a tight grip for several long minutes.

"I don't want you to think like that, because nothing of what you said is true," he told her then. "How can you think I was hurt because of you? I switched shifts back then because I wanted to, not because you told me so. And I protected you because that was my instinct. Call me old-fashioned, but as your husband it's my job to make sure you don't get hurt. I would never let anyone hurt you, no matter what that means to me. Just like you would never let anyone get me hurt. Also that I was hurt had nothing to do with what I did. I was hit before I had even tackled you down. It happened before I even got the chance to move. You couldn't have done anything to prevent that from happening. There are situations we can't interfere. We have to accept that, as hard as it is. Things happen. We can't always do anything."

"Just like I couldn't do anything when my friends were shot?" she asked back, furiously wiping her tears away. "I became a CSI because I wanted to help those who have to deal with something like that. And I promised to myself that I would never let anyone hurt anyone I love again. Still you got hurt twice and I couldn't do anything."

"It's unfair, isn't it?" he replied, gently running his hand up and down her back. "It's unfair because sometimes we can try everything and still it's not enough. It's hard to accept but it's fact. But when something like that happens, what matters is what you'll do after it. And look at what you did. You supported me and helped me, day in and day out until I was really scared you would break down every moment. And look at me now. Thanks to you I'm out of this wheelchair again, because you pushed me to continue, because you helped me when I needed it, because you listened to me whenever I had to rant and was so frustrated because I didn't make progresses fast enough. You couldn't do anything against those idiots who shot at the bar. And you couldn't have prevented them from hitting me; that was impossible. I was lucky that I got you down from your chair before they could hit you as well. But if you had wanted to be faster than them, you would have had to see it coming and kick me down from mine before the first shot fell. There was nothing you could have done differently. Just like with your friends. And I want you to finally understand that with what you did to me after that night, you saved me more than you could have at that bar itself. Because it was you who kept me working on it, who didn't let me give up. You should keep that in mind."

Once again Lindsay felt how Danny pulled her backwards lightly until he could face her. Once again she found the support in his eyes. And deep inside she knew he was right, deep inside she knew he was saying the truth.

She couldn't have been faster than those men. She couldn't have helped her friends. There were moments like this, no matter how difficult that was to accept.

"About the nightmares," he added then. "I'm sure they'll go away again very soon. And if not, ask for help. Until that time though, I'd be happy if you woke me up when you have them again. Just so we can talk about them a bit. Or just so I can comfort you."

She hesitated for a moment. Then she nodded, even managing to offer a soft smile. "Okay, I'll do that."

Smiling back at her, Danny pulled Lindsay back into his arms, holding her in a warm, tight embrace. She knew he was right- both of them had the wish to protect each other and they tried it as good as they could. Protecting meant more than stepping in when things got dangerous though. It also meant to help each other, to show comfort and make sure the other one had someone at their side when they needed it. Both of them knew they had found this person in each other. And that they would make sure they would always take care of each other.

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**Preview: Danny and Lindsay have another topic to discuss.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Thanks so much for reviewing! Also huge thanks to everyone for reading! Special thanks to afrozenheart412, uscrocks, SMacked Hard, just-off-the-key-off-reason and iheartcsinewyork!**

**ATTENTION: THIS CHAPTER MIGHT INCLUDE SPOILERS AGAIN!!!**

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**A long time ago, Lindsay had discovered that something special was uniting her and Danny. Being a person who cared a lot for the people around her, she had always tried to have a deeper look at them, had tried to read them to find out how they were feeling, to be there for them without needing them to say a word.

With him, this seemed to be even easier than with anyone else. Often he had tried to hide the way he was really feeling. For many different reasons. He was afraid to open up, to show what was happening deep inside his mind. He was also afraid to put too much pressure on her, no matter how much she tried to reassure him that this would never be the case.

Still he was careful and very hesitant. But Lindsay didn't let him. In the past, there had been moments when she had often wondered how to treat Danny the best. Should she push him into talking to her? Should she give him space so he had the chance to come to her on his own?

When Louie had been beaten up and had ended up at the hospital, she had carefully reached out to him. At this point he didn't know anything of her own nightmares she had to go through in the past, and the fact that she knew very well how difficult it was to let people in. Anyway she had tried to show him gentle support, just with sitting by his side, listening to all those childhood stories he had shared with her.

Then Ruben's accident had happened; a situation he hadn't been able to handle. Guilt and grief had taken his mind over and once again she had to face the question; what should she do? At this point they had been together already, so in her eyes it had been her job to reach out for him, to show him support. Once again she had tried to reach out, but he hadn't been willing to take her support. Instead he had turned to others, had pushed her away as far as he could.

Something like that she wasn't willing to let happen again. Space she had tried to give him, knowing sometimes one couldn't handle the support coming from all sides. Time she had tried to give him. It hadn't worked at all.

Since this time and since they were back together, she had sworn to herself that no matter what situation they would get in, she wouldn't allow him to pull back again. It didn't matter whether Danny felt like he wanted to talk or not. Lindsay wouldn't allow him to push her away. She would force him to open up to her if she had to.

Her chance to do that had come. Many times Danny had tried to avoid her, to hide what he was feeling and thinking as he had been sitting in the wheelchair, dealing with the biggest challenge they had to face so far. Once again he had tried to deal with it on his own. But Lindsay hadn't let him. Over and over again she had pushed him, had encouraged him to open up, to share those thoughts and feelings with her. Over and over again she had reassured him that she, his wife, wanted to be there for him, no matter how many excuses he would find for the opposite.

It had led to him follow her advice. Still she had been gentle with him, had also shown him that she wouldn't accept his usual way of dealing with problems. He had listened to her, had allowed her to be part of it. And they had handled the situation together. As a couple. As a team.

Danny wasn't sitting in a wheelchair anymore. Despite his own expectations, he had learnt how to walk again. Lindsay had to admit there had been moments in which she had worried whether he could make it happen or not. Never she had given up on him though, always she had tried to gently encourage him. He had succeeded; he could walk again. Things had eased between them; they had even gotten to the point where they had bought a house, which had indeed been a fast decision, but one that had been right for them. Now they were working on part two of their plan; a sibling for Lucy. Things had gotten better and easier.

But once again she could feel it. Once again Lindsay noticed the signs she knew so well already. Danny was thinking about something. Something she didn't know about yet. He was hiding something in front of her. And once again he tried to avoid her from finding out.

For days now, she was watching him. Closely. There was no doubt he was hiding something and she had a clear suspicion what his secret was about. Still she tried to give him the chance to come to her on his own. But after a couple of days and no single word, she changed her mind.

It was late evening. Lindsay had just put Lucy to bed and had spent the usual couple of minutes with watching the sleeping baby, making sure she was alright, before she had headed downstairs again. Carefully she walked, making sure she didn't make any unnecessary noise that could give her away. She made her way over the kitchen where she could hear him still being in. What she got to see was all she needed to know her suspicion was right.

Danny was standing at the sink after what she assumed putting the now clean dishes back into the cupboard above. His hands were tightly clenching around the edge of the sink as he tried to keep himself in a straight position. His eyes were squeezed shut in pain as he tried to calm his body down again.

Lindsay didn't waste a moment with waiting as she entered the room as well. There was no reason for waiting that he would come to her. They had to talk now.

"Hey babe," she said as she walked closer. Like expected his eyes flew open in an instant. Still clinging to the edge of the sink, he forced himself to turn around, trying to hide the pain that had to be shooting through his body as he did so. A forced smile he gave her as he managed to face her.

"Lucy is asleep already?" he asked in a faked light voice. "Hopefully she stays that way. Not that one day she suddenly starts to refuse going to bed."

Lindsay nodded. "You still try to do that. Why?"

"Why what?" he asked back. His face turned serious though; he knew exactly what she was referring to.

"You sure you don't want to sit down?" she asked instead. When he didn't answer, she sighed softly. "Okay, let's go into the living room, alright?"

"Sure," he answered quietly.

Lindsay waited at her spot near the door until Danny had walked into the living room. Every movement told her he was in pain again; a pain he had tried to hide in front of her for a while now. Once again she could feel the lump that was rising in her throat. Not because he had tried to hide it yet again but because of what he was supposed to be feeling. She knew him too well to not understand him.

A moment later, the couple was sitting on the living room. She hadn't missed his expression soften in relief as he was able to sit down again. Next to that she found discomfort in his eyes; he knew she had caught him. But this wasn't about catching him or proving a point.

Reaching out, Lindsay took one of his hands into hers. Like he was following an instinct, Danny closed his around hers as his eyes met hers.

"I'm sorry," he told her then.

"What for?" she asked him.

Danny sighed lightly, shaking his head. "You know what I mean."

"If you're apologizing for not telling me that you're in pain again, don't," Lindsay replied. She paused for a moment, once again watching him. "Listen, this is not about telling you what to do. Yes, I want you to come to me and finally stop doing it all by yourself. But currently I'm more concerned than anything else. I'm not talking to you because I want to tell you you're a bad boy for not coming to me straight away as you started to feel pain again. I want to know what's going on here."

His discomfort changed into an expression of surprise as he glanced back at her. Still it took him a bit to answer and she could imagine the reasons behind that, knowing where his behaviour was coming from. "I'm having back pain again," he told her then with his other hand pointing at a spot at his lower back.

"When did that start?" she wanted to know.

He shrugged. "It started a while back. It's been okay as I've been working at the lab. I could sit down when it got too exhausting. But since I'm back in the field...all the walking is more exhausting than I thought. There've also been moments in which I had to chase after someone. After that it was hardly bearable." His voice trailed off again as he stared down at their joined hands.

"So the pain started when you had to go back into the field?" she asked him after a while.

Danny nodded. "Yeah. It was perfectly fine all the time before. But being up all day and especially having to run...doesn't seem good for my back."

"Well, it's no surprise actually," Lindsay said softly. "This wasn't just a minor injury that can be pushed aside and everything is fine again. You've been sitting in a wheelchair. You had to go through physical therapy. Your body needs time. Maybe we should go to Mac and tell him that it's too early for you to be back in the field."

"No." The determination in Danny's response surprised her.

"Why not?" she asked.

"I can't go to him. I also don't want him to know in the first place. Or anyone else," he explained. "That...won't work. Knowing Mac he'll make me reduce my working hours. And we can't do that. This is part of my job and I have to do that. I...have to find other ways to handle it."

"But you just told me that all the walking and running is causing the pain," she replied. "Just so you know, I noticed something was wrong. Don't deny it. You've been in pain whenever you came back to the lab. You've had major problems with keeping on standing or walking after that. And now...look at how you just felt. You just did the dishes and it caused pain already. I know you don't want to go to Mac. I know you're afraid of the consequences if you tell him that you need to go back to lab work. Or at least to reduce your field hours. But what if you keep that going and it'll get worse?"

Lindsay had barely spoken it out as she saw the look Danny gave her. She didn't need him to say a word that the thought of what she was thinking about herself right now was frightening him even more than facing Mac.

"Don't you think I know that?" he asked then, his voice so quiet it was barely to hear. "Don't you think...that damn pain is frightening me? I'm already paying close attention to when exactly it starts to hurt. Or...for other affects."

"Are you feeling anything else but the pain?" Lindsay wanted to know.

Danny shook his head. She could feel his hand clenching around hers, shaking lightly. There was no doubt why he hadn't come to her right away. He was scared. "No. No numb feeling or anything like that. Just the back pain. Mostly when I have been walking a lot. Or stretching, like earlier."

Lindsay nodded. "Okay. Then I think if we went to Mac now and told him you need to slow down again, it'll still be early enough. Ah, wait." She stopped him as he tried to contradict. "I know you're afraid Mac could force you to reduce your hours. Or that this would have any other consequences. But be honest, if you could decide between possibly being stuck in the lab or your pain getting worse, what would be more bearable for you?"

"I'm just afraid I could have to go back into the wheelchair again," he replied quietly.

"I don't think that will happen," she said, squeezing his hand gently to emphasize her words. "If it calms you down, we could also go to see a doctor though. And we will have to talk to Mac. You have to make sure that you get enough chances to sit down when work gets too much. And no chasing anymore. I know you'll rather want to be back to work full time and do everything the job requires. But your health is more important, okay?"

He remained quiet for a moment, still looking down at their hands. Lindsay knew Danny understood what she wanted him to know. He didn't want to face any consequences at work. His worst fear was to go back into his wheelchair though. And she knew he wouldn't want that to happen. No matter what it cost.

"If things get difficult again...especially now that we also have the house and...possibly soon another baby...," he said then, stopping again.

"Then we can do that together," she reassured him. "If you take care of yourself, you don't have to worry I think. I'm no doctor, but I think your back just needs some time to heal. You can walk again but this doesn't mean everything is back to the way it was before. Be patient and allow yourself some time to get completely fit again."

Glancing back at her again, Danny smiled lightly. "I think maybe I really should have come to you immediately," he admitted. "Instead of worrying all the time."

"That's what I told you, right?" Lindsay replied with a smile of her own. "Maybe next time keep that in mind. You know you can always come to me. And don't think you could scare me. Of course I would rather like to hear you're not in pain at all. But I want to hear the truth. We're a team, aren't we? You know what we said when we got married."

"I know," he answered. For a moment he hesitated before he added, "So tomorrow when I talk to Mac, will you come with me?"

"Of course," she replied. "We'll go to talk to Mac and we'll go to the doctor as well."

"Thank you," he said with his smile widening lightly. Smiling back at him, she gave him a gentle kiss before she allowed him to cuddle against her.

Lindsay knew that sometimes she had to remind Danny of the fact he could talk to her. Still he had the instinct to keep things to himself, for different reasons. It was working better and better though and from his reactions she could tell he understood her explanations. They were working together and they could rely on each other. They just had to make sure they kept that in mind. And it was working very good already.

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**Preview: Danny and Lindsay follow their advice and talk.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Huge thanks to all of you for reviewing! Thanks also for reading and for adding the story! Special thanks to uscrocks, just-off-the-key-off-reasons, Sade, afrozenheart412, iheartcsinewyork and SMacked Hard!**

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**Danny and Lindsay had a lot in common. One major thing was the fact that they would do everything to protect the ones they loved. Mainly each other and their child. That she wanted to make sure no one hurt her little family had always been clear to her. There was much more she wanted though. She wanted to make sure her family was doing well, that all of them were feeling good, were happy. She sensed the emotions of those who meant a lot to her.

It was no surprise she could clearly sense the way Danny was feeling. Lindsay knew he wasn't the biggest talker when it came to feelings. Still he couldn't hide them in front of her at all. Just a look into his eyes and she knew what he was thinking. Just listening to the sound of his voice was enough for her to know whether he was feeling good or not. He couldn't hide it, and he knew it.

Since he was in pain again, she was keeping an even closer look on him. She could understand what had made Danny not talk to her immediately. He had been scared of what she would say in response; would she be afraid, would she force him to face consequences? Possibly he also had just been hoping the pain would simply go away again if he kept on ignoring it. Which hadn't worked.

They had visited Mac the day after, had told him about the facts. Lindsay could understand Danny wanted to do every part of his job; the work at the lab as much as the work in the field. It didn't work that easily currently. Being out in the field and especially chasing down a suspect was too much for his back. He needed to slow down again. No matter how hard that was to accept for him.

Of course Mac had agreed with Lindsay on that. Now Danny was working at the lab most of the time again, only being in the field if really necessary and staying away from everything that could cause unnecessary pressure on his back. Danny's expression once again had said more than words. He hadn't liked the idea a slightest bit, had been grateful those were the only consequences he had to face.

Soon after that they had visited a doctor, who had just confirmed what both of them were aware of already; he had to take care of himself. For her it had been a relief. For him it hadn't. She could feel it.

Once again it was getting evening, only a few more hours to work. Just a few minutes ago, Lindsay had managed to close yet another case with Stella. Like every time, a strong relief floated through her. Another villain had been sent to prison because they had found out what he had been doing to his victim. Another person that wouldn't be able to hurt others for a while.

Like every time she had a few minutes break, she made her way right over to the office she shared with Danny. Like she had expected, she found her husband sitting at his desk, bent over a file that was resting in front of him. She didn't even need to step closer to see that he was concentrating on everything but the file.

This time, she didn't waste a moment with just standing there. Gently, Lindsay knocked at the glass door to announce her presence as she entered the room. Like expected, Danny had been deep in his thoughts as he snapped out of them like she had just woken him up and glanced at her in surprise for a moment.

"Hey," she greeted him as she walked over to him, giving him the warmest smile she had to offer. Once again his eyes were revealing what she could see in them so often lately. Worry.

"Hey," he greeted back. "How was the case? You locked that guy up?"

Lindsay nodded. "Yep, we did. The guy won't leave the prison for the next decade." She stepped behind his chair, peeking over his shoulder. She didn't have a doubt he hadn't been working on this file for a while. "How are you feeling?"

"Did we switch roles now?" he asked back, trying to add a teasing sound to his voice. "I remember last year it was me who always asked you that."

"Yeah, I clearly remember." Lindsay smiled lightly as she remembered how he had asked her how she was whenever he had seen her. Even when he had just asked her like five minutes ago. "And you never stopped asking me. So won't I. Now tell me, how is your back?"

"It's fine," he answered. Glancing over his shoulder briefly, he tried to give her a reassuring smile. He couldn't control what she got to see in his eyes though.

Leaning over the low back of the chair, she reached down to where his shirt was sticking in his jeans. Carefully, she pulled it out of the waistband and brought her warm hands to the lower of his back. She felt how he tensed for a moment before he relaxed instantly at the warm, gentle touch.

"When did it hurt today?" she asked softly.

"It barely did," Danny answered. He sighed lightly as he bent forward a bit more, allowing her more access to his back.

Pulling his shirt up a bit more, she got to face his scar once again, like always making her shiver. This scar never failed to remind her of that night at the bar. Of how she had felt when she had seen what had happened. Of the moment she had seen the floor covering with blood. Of the hours she had spent at the hospital, in fear and nervousness. Of the news that he would have to sit in a wheelchair for an undefined period of time. It also reminded her of the fact he hadn't pushed her away this time. Of how close this challenge had brought them. Of how much it had made them realise how precious their relationship was.

"Does it hurt right now?" she wanted to know as she gently pressed her hand against where she knew the pain usually started.

"A bit," he answered softly as he released a little sigh the moment she found the right place. "Just aching a bit. Possibly from sitting too long. I did paperwork most of the day. Looks like sitting doesn't work so well either."

This statement was enough for her to hear what she was suspecting already. Letting go of his back, she grabbed the armrests of his chair and turned him around. Pulling another chair over, she sat down in front of him, watching him closely. She found him avoiding eye contact immediately.

"What's wrong?" she asked him softly. She took his hands into hers, holding them tightly. "Come on, look at me."

Danny sighed deeply. "What do you want to hear? My back is aching a bit. It's gotten better though. It's not as bad anymore as it was while I was still doing field work."

"Then what else is bugging you?" Lindsay wanted to know. "Don't tell me nothing."

"I can't really fool you, right?" he teased, his face staying serious though. As she didn't reply but waited for him to continue, he sighed once more. "Fine, it's just...driving me crazy, you know? It's stressing me. I'm constantly paying attention to my back and pray that it won't start hurting again. I'm frustrated because I have to stay at the lab again, doing all that stuff I like the least about this job. I don't know how long I have to do that and when I can get back into the field. Or if I ever can. And then there is still the fear that one day I wake up and can't feel anything again."

This one statement was filled with all those thoughts that were spinning in his mind. Thoughts she had sensed already. Her hands tightened around his as she tried to show him the support he needed.

"I can understand it's frustrating you to be stuck in the lab," she said softly as she ran her thumbs over the backs of his hands. "But of course you'll be back in the field again. I know it's easier said than done but you need to be patient. I know that now that you can walk again you want to be back to the way you were before. But as hard as it is, it takes time. What you went through wasn't easy to handle for your body. You have to get used to it slowly. Increase the work more and more with the time."

"Yeah, maybe," he answered, not really convinced by her words. Still she could see the fear in his eyes; an expression that got to her.

"You're afraid, aren't you?" she asked softly.

Danny stared down at her hands that were holding his as he shrugged. For Lindsay this answered her question clearly.

"The pain got better, right?" she wanted to know.

"Yeah," Danny replied. "But because I barely do anything. Who knows how long it'll take me to be back to normal? And...what if it gets worse again? What if one day...it's back to how it was?"

He didn't even dare to speak it out. Lindsay could understand him. It had taken him a lot of pain and afford to get to the point he was at now. He had been in the wheelchair for so many weeks. He had forced himself through physical therapy. She knew how grateful he was for the fact he could walk again, now much he enjoyed every step he made. Losing that again was one of the biggest fears he could face.

"You know what the doctor said, right?" Lindsay told him then. "I've heard what he said. He said that you're doing huge progresses. There never was damage to your spine. It was temporary paralyzation. You listened to him and did exactly what he told you. You're resting, making sure you do all those exercises, you're sitting and lying as much as you can. You're doing everything to make sure your body can heal."

"I know. Then why do I still wake up and the first thing I do is trying to see if I can still feel something in my legs?" he wanted to know.

"Because it was a scary situation for you," she answered, hoping she would find the right words. "You have been through that and I know how scared you've been that you'd have to stay in the wheelchair. It's only natural you're afraid to get back into it. And now with the pain this fear increased. It's a normal reaction. It'll get better when the pain gets better. And with the time you'll be able to do all the things you've been doing before. You just have to make sure you don't rush things and allow your body the time it needs."

"And what if you're wrong?" Danny looked back at her, once again clearly revealing his emotions with the expression in his eyes. "What if the pain increases again and one day I wake up and can't move anymore? Do you know how scared I am to wake up in the morning, not knowing if either it all was just a dream or I'll be back to how it was before?"

The pain she found in his voice caused her heart to break, like so many times before. "Since when do you have such fears?" she wanted to know. She had felt something was wrong all the time. That he was fighting with such thoughts she couldn't have known for sure.

"Since the pain started again," he answered honestly. "Before I was just glad I could walk again. And we were so busy with planning to move and the baby. But since the pain is back I'm constantly wondering when I'll have to sit in that chair again."

"You know how small the chances are that this would ever happen, right? Pretty much non existent," she reminded him.

"The chances to walk again were small at the beginning as well," Danny answered.

"Yes, sure, the chances weren't high either," Lindsay agreed. "But you made it happen because you worked for it. You worked for it really hard. Now you're not working towards getting back into that chair, right? Instead you're doing everything to keep it the way it's now and to feel better. And the doctor said that if you keep it going, you'll fully recover and barely won't have any problems in the future."

She paused, waiting for any reaction of him. She could see Danny was listening to her, slowly getting her point. It wasn't enough to wipe away all those thoughts that were frightening him. It was a start though.

"Look, you remember what I told you when you wondered if you would ever walk again?" Lindsay continued. "I told you to believe in yourself. It's what you did and look where you're now. I want you to continue doing that. Believe in yourself and that what you're doing will work. You won't get back into the wheelchair if you allow your body to heal, if you give yourself the time you need. And if the fear comes back, come to me. Come to me and speak it out so I can reassure you. I know it's hard, but you know it works. It works for me. It works for you as well. Just try it. Try to keep your chin up. You're walking again and look, now that you're working less the pain gets better as well. You'll see, it'll all work out. It did and it will stay that way. You just have to believe it."

Once again Danny looked back at Lindsay, thinking about everything she had told him. It seemed like she could see the thoughts that were running through his mind. A rush of relief went through her as a sudden smile lit his face.

"Didn't I tell you I don't need a cheerleader?" he asked her with a tiny smirk.

"Obviously you do," she replied with a wink.

He chuckled lightly. "Alright. Let's just agree that I'll try to follow your advice, okay?" he said then. "And thank you. For doing it again."

"For doing it again?" she repeated.

He smiled at her, this warm smile she adored so much. "Yeah, for giving me that kick I needed. I'll try my best to believe in myself. Might actually work with you at my side."

"It will, definitely," she agreed, smiling back at him.

Lindsay knew that she would have such conversations with Danny a lot, and she was glad he was actually willing to be open and talk to her like that. She didn't mind to give him gentle pushes to encourage him. It didn't take much afford to make him talk to her. She was glad to know that he trusted in her enough to share his feelings with her. And she would make sure she would continue with encouraging him.

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**Preview: Danny and Lindsay share their thoughts about a case.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Hey! I almost forgot there are still two more chapters I have for this fic. :) Sorry about that! And who knows, if there is interest, I might do even more chapters? ;) Anyway, thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing this fic! I hope you still want to read some updates! Special thanks to ioanhoratio, afrozenheart412, iheartcsinewyork, just-off-the-key-off-reason and rhymenocerous!**

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There was a lot Danny and Lindsay enjoyed about their job. Both of them loved it. Of course they couldn't like every part of the job as much as the other. But over all they both were convinced that it was perfect for them. It was what they were supposed to do. They were good at their job, they knew how to do it and they liked to do it. They liked to do it for all those times they made sure that yet another bad person was securely locked up behind bars, making the world a little bit less dangerous.

Anyways there were times in which Lindsay wondered if choosing this job had been a good decision. The wish to protect and help others had made her change her wish from being a farmer into being a CSI. She wouldn't say she ever regretted this decision. That maybe sometimes the job was getting too much for her she couldn't deny.

Like on days like this. Incredibly exhausted she was as she arrived at home. Too tired to care, she dropped her purse, jacket and shoes in the hallway and made her way right to the stairs. She wasn't surprised to find the kitchen and living room downstairs empty and dark. There was dinner in the oven, so much she could tell. But currently she was too tired to actually even think about eating.

This had been one of those days where she wondered why she was even doing her job. Working with Flack, she had to deal with a wife who had killed her husband. Because she had been annoyed by him over the years they had been married. Lindsay hadn't been able to prevent herself from questioning the woman; why had she done it? Why did she have to kill this man? All she had gotten in response was the answer that the woman couldn't stand him anymore; too much had been bugging her about him. At the question why she had never tried to talk those things that bugged her out, she had simply answered the afford had been too high. To sum it up, she hadn't wanted to waste her time with talking to this man as things had gotten too complicated after the wedding.

It had been one of those moments where Lindsay had wished to reach across the table and slap the woman who seemed to believe she had had all right to commit this crime. Possibly she wouldn't have been able to calm herself down hadn't Flack been in the room as well.

Lindsay didn't give herself the right to judge the marriage of the woman and her husband. She didn't know them enough to understand how she had really been feeling. Anyways the fact the wife obviously hadn't ever tried to share her thoughts and feelings with her husband and had never tried to invest any energy in making the marriage work better was bothering her a lot.

If someone knew how hard it was to make a relationship work, it was Lindsay. Being together with Danny hadn't always meant things had been cute and easy. So many times they had to go through deep valleys to get back up again. Many bumps they had to pass until they had come to where they were at now. She had pushed him away as her past had come back to haunt her. He had pushed her away in all his guilt. They had broken up and gotten back together. She had gotten pregnant without them having it planned. They had to adjust to the fact they were going to be a family. And then as they had to handle being a family and working, they had to deal with his injury.

Things hadn't always been easy, but they had kept on working on it. Many times she had been desperate, but it had been her love for him that had made her continue, that had brought them through all those different times. Never she would have given up on working on their relationship. She couldn't understand how someone who once had loved someone else could simply shy away from investing in what once had made them marry.

Sighing deeply, Lindsay made her way upstairs. Like always, she went straight to the child's room. Despite her exhaustion and frustration, a smile instantly lit her face as she stepped over to the crip, finding Lucy cuddled into her blanket, lying on her side as her body was softly heaving and falling at each breath. It was a sight that never failed to warm her heart.

Gently she stroked over the baby's cheek for a moment before she quietly left the room again to continue her way to the bedroom. And once again a smile lit her face as she found her husband in it, like she had expected. Lying on his stomach, Danny was deep asleep himself. Obviously he had been so exhausted he hadn't even managed to wrap himself into their thick blanket. That he wasn't lying on his back like usually for a moment sent a rush of worry through her. She assumed he had felt pain again which had prevented him from lying on his back. But one thing she had learnt; wondering wouldn't work. She had to ask instead.

Quickly getting out of her clothes and into one of his t-shirts which she recently preferred to wear for sleeping, she climbed onto the bed as well carefully. She crawled over to him until she was lying next to him, able to face him. She lay down next to him and watched him for a while. Peaceful and relaxed he looked like in his sleep; nothing that indicated he was feeling any pain at the moment. It was relieving her. As much as she was convinced the pain would soon go away if he just took care of himself and allowed his body the needed time to heal, the thought of him being in pain wasn't easy to bear for her.

Just watching him wasn't enough for her though. Reaching out, Lindsay gently ran her fingertips over his cheek, causing him to stir instantly. Quickly she pulled back, but she wasn't fast enough. Blinking lightly, Danny opened his eyes, gazing right into hers. Immediately a smile lit his face as he saw her.

"Hey, welcome home," he greeted her sleepily.

"Hey," she replied, smiling back. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's fine, I guess I slept long enough," Danny answered.

"Fine." Lindsay watched him for yet another moment. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm not in pain if that's what you're referring to," he told her with a wink. "I've been earlier, but it's fine now. Just a little stinging in the lower back area. Possibly because Lucy wouldn't calm down and I had to carry her around the house after another long shift. It's all good again now. Even without the painkillers."

Lindsay knew she couldn't hide her obvious relief at his words. She didn't have a doubt the way they had handled the symptoms that had told them he had to slow down for his body to heal was working for him; since he was back to working at the lab mostly and avoiding hard physical work, there weren't many moments in which he was in pain anymore. Still every of those moments caused her to feel uncomfortable. Because she didn't want to see him in pain. Also because she knew every time this happened frightened him.

"But what about you?" he asked then, making her snap back to the present.

"What about me?" she wanted to know, anyways feeling how her cheeks were reddening again lightly. She knew he had managed to read her mind once again. Just as much as she could read in his eyes, he could do the same with hers.

"You had a rough day?" he asked. With a light groan, Danny turned around until he was lying on his back, moving closer to the headboard so he could rest against it. "Come here and tell me what upset you."

"You enjoy trying to read my mind?" Lindsay teased back. As she saw the serious expression in his eyes though, she knew teasing wouldn't ease the situation. He could feel something was bothering her and just like her, he wouldn't stop until he knew what he wanted to know. And so following his wish, she crawled over to him, lay down on his chest and allowed him to wrap his arms around her.

"Did you ever feel like working on our relationship is too much work to be worth it?" she asked then after a while. Almost she could feel him frown, giving her a confused look.

"Of course not, why should it be too much work for me?" he wanted to know. "How do you mean that in the first place?"

With a sigh, Lindsay snuggled closer against him. "It's because of the case we worked today. When I asked the suspect why she had never tried to actually work on her relationship with her husband and had never tried to talk to him, she said it was too exhausting and useless in the first place."

"Yeah, not many people actually invest in their relationships," Danny answered. Moving a bit so she could look at his face, she found a thoughtful expression in his eyes as he looked down at her. "Honestly? I don't believe this woman actually ever loved him."

"She said she did, back then when they got married but that it got less and less with the years as he was showing his real face," Lindsay repeated what the wife had told her.

"And?" Danny shrugged. "This is no excuse if you ask me. I think if she really loved him, she would have stepped in as she had noticed that things were going down. She could have tried to talk to him and tell him what was bothering her. I also don't think he really loved her either, otherwise he would have noticed what was wrong with her. That they were drifting apart."

"You think it's that easy to judge their relationship even though we don't even know them?" Lindsay watched him with raised eyebrows. "We can't tell for sure how they have been acting around each other."

"I also don't need to hear it all," Danny admitted. "I know that might sound harsh. But this woman killed him. They claim to love each other and then just let it all slip. I know I'm possibly the last one who has the right to make big words as I know I've hurt you as well. I didn't forget that. But...well, I learnt from my mistake. I tried everything I could to get you back. And since we're together, I tried my best to show you how much I really love you. And...well, tell me, did you think it wasn't worth fighting for what we have now?"

Listening to his honesty, Lindsay had to smile once again. For a moment she had seen it again, the hint of guilt in his eyes as he had remembered how close to breaking up completely they had been. Still they had gotten back on track. And one reason had been the fact that after he had realised what he was really feeling, he had proven to her he was serious about his love for her.

"Of course it was worth it," she answered. "Since we're back together, I didn't have a doubt it was the right decision. I know you love me, just like I love you. I know that despite from those moments when you're afraid to tell me how you're feeling, you would never lie to me and that you'd come to me instead of pushing me away. Just same I'm trying to do as well. We learnt from our mistakes." She paused, releasing a light sigh. "Maybe you're even right. Maybe if they had loved each other anything like us, they would have fought for their relationship instead of giving up on it already. Possibly we don't have to know them to believe that."

"What I'd like to know is why you try to understand them in the first place? Or wonder whether they loved each other or not?" Danny asked her.

Lindsay shrugged. "I don't know. The case really upset me for some reason. It's just...you and me, we went through so much. We had to face so many really hard challenges. So many couples would have given up, but we kept on fighting. How's it possible something like that can happen to people who say they love each other?"

"Well, maybe they loved each other at one point but the love wasn't strong enough," he suggested. "The murder was an extreme reaction. But maybe it's not unusual lately that people throw their relationships away whenever things get difficult. There's only a handful of people who actually invest into something. It shows how special we are. We're strong and there's not really anything that we can't somehow handle. We should be proud of that. And not wonder why other people aren't able to do it like us."

Once again Lindsay had to smile at what Danny was trying to tell her. He hadn't spoken it out but he had understood what she had secretly been wondering; was there a chance that they would drift apart as well? The way this couple had reacted to each other had shocked her. Love meant more to her than anything else. It pained her to imagine how else their relationship could have turned out if they hadn't fought for their love that strongly.

He was right. They were special. She didn't have a doubt that most couples loved each other. Sometimes the love wasn't strong enough though. Sometimes love didn't handle big challenges. Or small ones for that matter. Their love though was strong enough to handle every bump they had to get over. And instead of weakening their relationship, they had made them stronger.

"I'm glad we're so special," she answered then as she snuggled back against him.

"So am I," he agreed. "And now relax. You're home. You're with your family who loves you. Doesn't matter how many people out there are throwing their relationship away. As long as we're happy, it's all great."

Lindsay nodded in response, allowing Danny to hold her even closer. This closeness to him told her more than words and combined with what he had to tell her, she had no doubt he was right. They were strong persons. They were even stronger as a couple though. They both knew what real love was. They had proven it to each other so many times. It was a gift and they were grateful for it.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Here's an update for you! This is the last chapter of this story. I'd like to thank everyone who has been reading and reviewing this fic. I'm glad to know you enjoyed it! Thanks for following this story! Thanks for supporting me! Special thanks to saderia and afrozenheart412!**

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Since Lindsay was married with Danny, she knew that having a family with him was the best she could imagine. Had she been unsure as she had found out she was pregnant, soon she had realised that this man who she thought she could never trust in again, was there for her and that she could completely rely on him.

Just like he could rely on her. Had he not come to her when dealing what had happened to Ruben, he had let her in after the shooting when they had found out he would be temporarily paralysed. It had been a shock for them both, but just as he hadn't stepped back when she had shared her pregnancy with him and had made sure she would take his offered help, she didn't back off either. They were married, they were a team. She would make sure he wouldn't have to go through this alone. And he hadn't. He let her be part of it, had taken her advice. Just the way it had to be.

They were a fantastic team, so much everyone knew. They had to go through a lot to get to where they were at now. They had to pass a lot of hindrance, but somehow those had only made them stronger, had made them understand what they had in each other; a partner who would be at their side, no matter how difficult things would get.

But as much as she knew that she could rely on him, Lindsay didn't plan on making their situation even more complicated. Buying a house had been a risk of course. Now with his returning back pain, he had to slow down at work again to make sure it wouldn't get worse. No money in the world was worse him getting back into the wheelchair again. Lindsay knew that Danny still wished to have another baby; a sibling for Lucy. But for a while, so she had thought, this wish had to wait.

Obviously nature had had other plans. Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, Lindsay was staring at the little stick she was tightly holding in her hands, the little window turned away from her. Her hands were shaking as she tried to force her nervousness down. At first she hadn't noticed her period was late; only when she was due again a month later she had realised she had already skipped one. What she had assumed were symptoms of stress she had now identified at what she had to go through with Lucy as well; morning sickness, tiredness, dizziness.

In fact Lindsay didn't need the pregnancy test. She knew her body and since her first pregnancy, she knew it even better. She knew how those changes felt like. No test had to tell her that a new life was growing inside her. She could feel it.

The beeping of the little alarm clock she had taken with her caused her to snap back to reality with such a force that she almost dropped the little stick. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest as she closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves down, knowing it wouldn't work. Still with roughly shaking hands, she turned the little stick around. The symbol of a plus she got to see only confirmed what she knew already.

A deep sigh escaped her as she continued staring at the little pink plus. When she had decided to make a pregnancy test, she had expected a rush of thought spinning in her mind like it had happened the first time with Lucy. Now she wasn't even surprised by what she had found out. For a moment she felt a rush of excitement and happiness inside her; they were going to have another baby, a sibling for Lucy, once again she would be able to experience a pregnancy and once again they would have another little child. A baby which she already loved so much even though she had just gotten the confirmation she was pregnant again. But then another inner voice found its way into her and soon there was just a huge confusion inside her. Confusion and insecurity about what to do next. A numb feeling pushing away everything else and she had no idea what to do with it.

Once again she was interrupted in her thoughts, this time by a soft knocking on the door. Before Lindsay could answer it, the bathroom door was opened a bit and Danny peeked into the room.

"What does it say?" he wanted to know, joining her in the room.

"What?" Lindsay looked at him in confusion. So far she hadn't even told him she was suspecting to be pregnant.

He smiled. "I might have not known what's been going on back then, but I did notice you've been different when you were pregnant with Lucy. Just the way you're acting now," he told her, sitting down next to her on the edge of the bathtub. "You could feel I was in pain again, I can feel you're having all those pregnancy symptoms again."

Lindsay tried to smile at his words. "Looks like we know each other pretty well already."

Danny nodded. "We do, yeah. So, what does it say?" He didn't wait for her answer, instead gently took the little stick from her tight fist. The expression in his eyes told her he understood immediately.

"You're indeed pregnant again," he announced.

"Yeah," Lindsay answered quietly. "I'm sorry, I didn't see that coming either. Obviously it worked better than we thought."

"And why do you apologize for that?" Danny wanted to know, raising his eyebrows at her words.

"Because I think it's really not a good timing," she answered.

"Who says that?" Danny asked. "I think we agreed we want to have a second child a while ago."

"Yeah, sure we did," Lindsay replied. "But...well, I think...I just think...what if it's the wrong time?"

"Can you explain that to me?" he questioned.

Lindsay sighed. "I think it's quite easy. Yes, we've planned on having a second child, but I think this decision we made a little too fast. Lucy is still a baby. We just bought a house. And you need to slow down at work because of your back. Do you have any idea what it'll mean to us if we have another little baby here? And me being pregnant? Yes, we agreed on this baby but when we decided to reduce your field hours and make sure you don't work too hard, we also agreed that we'll wait with the baby until things get easier."

"I know, but it seems like something else decided differently," Danny replied.

Lindsay glanced back at him, once again sighing. "Do you even understand that with another baby things got even harder for us than they are already anyway?" Had she felt numb and unsure before, slowly she felt another nagging feeling rising inside her. Panic. Panic at the realisation of what was awaiting them. Panic because she wasn't sure if he understood that. "We...we don't have it easy anyway, especially after the last couple of months. Is it just me who gets scared at the thought of how we should handle that? I...know you trust in us and so do I. We managed to handle a lot but what if we won't be able to handle this? What if this is one step too much?"

Once again her heart was racing as she started to shiver, panic slowly taking over. For a brief moment only, Danny looked back at her before he simply closed his arms around her. He pressed her against himself as tight as possible without hurting her.

"It won't be too much," he stated, his voice revealing his full conviction.

"How do you want to know that?" she wanted to know, trying to hold back the rising tears. "I...was really looking forward to having another baby and to have a house. I thought it would be perfect to see our little family extend. Things have been so hard in the past and I was so happy to see that against all believes I had in the past, we've become a real family. The thought of having another baby with you, of having our own little house with enough space for all of us was so perfect to me. I think I totally forgot about how difficult things can get. Now...suddenly everything seems so complicated and...I'm scared we can't handle it. I'm also scared that you'll change your mind and suddenly start to work more again because now we have to pay for not only a house and one child but for two."

Feeling her fear constantly increasing, she wrapped her arms around him, pressing herself against his chest tightly. So much she wished to hear him say the perfect solution. She wasn't lying; for her there was nothing more perfect to have another baby with him and she knew that sooner or later they would have bought a house. It seemed that all those decisions had been made too quickly and she was afraid that this had been a mistake.

"See, you know I'm not always thinking rational," Danny said then after holding her in silence for a while, allowing her to cling to him. "I often just follow my instinct. That way I made mistakes in the past but very often it also made me do what was perfectly right. I know that with being responsible for your own little family, you can't make reckless decisions. But just as much as you have to think of what's right, you can't always know for sure that if you make a decision, it's the one and only perfect option. When you have more than one option, you have to decide. And sometimes your decision might turn out to not be the most perfect one. When we decided to have a second baby and to buy the house, we couldn't know work would be too much for my back and that I'd have to slow down again. We thought that after all the doctors had told us, I could go back to work normally again. We couldn't know that I'd have to take it easy again because the pain would return. When that happened, we had already made the decisions. We had bought the house, possibly you were pregnant again already. Maybe we should have waited a little longer, maybe we should have expected that my back could get worse again. We didn't though. We made this decision and for us it was perfect like that. We didn't make a reckless decision at all; you know how much time we invested in thinking of the good and not so good sides and we came to an agreement. Now it turns out that things aren't as easy as we imagined them to be; yes, maybe we miscalculated a few things and yes, maybe our emotions sped up the process of deciding like that. But only because things aren't as easy as we planned them to be doesn't mean our decision was wrong in the first place."

Gently Danny released her from his tight grip, pulling Lindsay back a bit so he could face her. She didn't reply as her eyes met his, knowing there was more to come and she didn't have to wait long.

"I think there are a couple of different ways to make decisions," he told her then. "I think with some things there is no questioning whether it's right or not. I know I did things in the past I should have known were wrong right away. But you can't compare anything like that to it. Sure, we could have waited a year until we bought the house and another year to have another baby. But who says that then things would have worked perfectly? We could have discussed about the pros and cons for ages but still we would have missed some of them. Now we didn't expect me to get in pain again and not being able to work full time already. In a few years maybe we would have forgotten to think of something else that would have surprised us then. When you make such life changing decisions like spending so much money on buying a house or on having another child, you can't be sure it'll work perfectly, no matter how long you wait. You know, back then when you told me you were pregnant, the father of Nicole Harris told me one thing I should keep in mind. He told me not to do anything I would regret later. It's what I decided to do. Thing might not be easy, but as complicated as they might be, I don't regret anything. I know we'll have to struggle to handle two babies, a house, our jobs and the fact we're married and I promise that I won't go back to full time work until I know for sure it's the right time. But when you found out you were pregnant with Lucy, did you imagine you and I could handle that? Did you think that we would handle being married? And me being in a wheelchair for months? I bet you wouldn't have thought we could handle all that together back then. But see, we did it. Why shouldn't we handle this now?"

Once again he stopped and this time Lindsay knew it was her turn to say something. One thing she wanted to clarify though.

"I hope you know I don't regret I got pregnant again," she said. "Having a baby is nothing I would ever regret, no matter how bad the timing is. I...well, I love Lucy since the moment I knew I was expecting her. I...love this baby as well already and I already can't wait to hold it in my arms. I'm just...scared of how to handle all that."

"I know and I got that," Danny answered.

"Good," Lindsay replied. "And I got you as well. Yeah, you're right, if I had known of all that before, I would have thought we would never be able to handle all this together. But we did, despite everything I expected back then. It's just...sometimes I wish it would be easy like that and if we make a decision we know for sure it's the right one."

"Yeah, but life isn't as predictable as that," he said. "It always takes twists and turns."

"That it does," she agreed and despite herself a light smile suddenly lit her face. "Well, maybe...this can also mean that in one moment everything seems so difficult and in the next life takes a turn and suddenly everything turns out to be a lot easier than expected. That's at least what happened when I found out about Lucy. I...sorry, but I was almost sure I would have to raise her by my own at the point when I told you about her. But despite all my expectations the situation took a turn and suddenly I wasn't alone but had you at my side and you showed me you were a lot more responsible than I imagined."

Danny smiled as well. "Exactly. You can't know for sure if a big decision you make is the right one, no matter how much you think of it and how much time you give yourself. Yeah, things aren't easy. I hope I can be back to normal work again soon and I agree that having two small children won't be easy. But who knows? When things have gotten more difficult in the past during the time I had to sit in the chair, who says that all of the sudden something happens and everything gets easier?" Once again he embraced her tightly. "See, you just said it. You're looking forward to this baby so much already. So do I. I don't have a doubt we can handle all that together. Just like we did with all those things in the past. Sure, it takes a lot more organizing, but I think at this point we're masters when it comes to organizing."

Lindsay chuckled. "Yeah, on that I agree with you." She watched how Danny's hand wandered down from where it was resting in her shoulder until it came to rest on her still flat belly. And had panic filled her before, now she felt a rush of excitement that pushed all doubts away. "You know what, I think we can really do that. It takes others ages to get pregnant and look at how easily it worked for us. Maybe it was supposed to happen."

"I think that sounds more like you," Danny replied with a wink. "I know how much you love being a Mom. I know how much you love this baby already, even though you just found out about it. It's your mind that is stepping in and scaring you. This mind is important when it comes to organizing our all day life. But it shouldn't make us doubt what we decided together."

"Maybe following your instinct and listening to your heart sometimes is quite a good thing," she answered and he nodded.

"Yeah, and don't forget. We're doing that together," he said.

"I know," she replied, once again with a smile.

Once again Lindsay allowed Danny to embrace her, this time in a gesture of excitement though. Of course they both had to keep in mind that there was a lot they had to organize. But so far there was a lot they had been able to handle together; this time would be no exception. He was perfectly right; she loved to be a mother, she loved to have Lucy and just as much she loved the new baby she could feel growing inside her. Her heart was telling her she was excited and looking forward to it and she was determined to listen to his inner voice. Things might not be easy but then again they knew how to work together perfectly. After all they Mac had been right; they had received the greatest gifts life had to offer.


End file.
